What Happens in Sin Doesn't Stay in Sin
by Awezomemedic78
Summary: West Nitespring is a prosperous metropolitan city that has grown quickly in 20 years. It has its share of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sam Saxe has his hands full running his guild the Red Foxes which has mages and non-mages. He's been forced to send one of his people to Magnolia for protection from a vacuum of dark guild power struggles. This is my version of Sin.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hello readers! Welcome to my version of Sin. I'm testing myself. After Soul Shatter my muse sent me in this direction. I've made a few OCs and a guild. I hope everyone enjoys. I will be having my OCs travel throughout Ishgar and our loveable Fair Tail guild will be there don't worry.**

 **I wanted the opportunity to build my own OCs in my own setting and see how I do. I hopw you enjoy them and my version of Sin. Please read and review. I appreciate it.**

Welcome to Sin

West Nitespring is nestled on the southeast side of Sin. It started as a small seaport city but with time, it became a booming international harbor boosting trade from Minstrel, Midi, Enca, and Bellum. The government entered into trade agreement with Bosco to bring airships into the port of West Nitespring for trade from the countries further west such as Bosco, Fiore and Seven. With the booming trade industry and commerce, came tourism to the area. West Nitespring had grown from a small seaport to a sprawling metropolis over the span of twenty years.

Like every city, there were the growing pains of a small seaport exporting raw materials for creating silks and cotton across Isghar to now boosting several different types of industry such as manufacturing company that make the silk, cotton, and blended fabrics. A growing chemical industrial is aiding the boom in the pharmaceutical companies in the city. With this large of growth in any city, there is the negative growth that happens. Human animal and drug trafficking are a major issue as well as the minor crimes like pickpocketing and assaults. West Nitespring being the largest international port to and from anywhere in Ishgar made it an ideal place for dark mage and non-mage guilds activity.

The government looked to other countries on how to handles these major issues and modelled the response on how to combat the illegal activity. The Great Tribune agreed on combating mages with mages and dealing with the non-magical issues with non-magical tactics. The Great Tribune went one-step further and created laws for guilds to combine mages and non-mages. They reasoned it would allow for wider range of skills in guilds around the country, thus giving a cohesive working relationship between mages and non-mages. This idea worked better than anyone imagined. Several guilds started being established around the country. One guild took root in West Nitespring, The Red Foxes.

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Rain drizzled down on West Nitespring. Gray clouds hung low over the cityscape of the skyscrapers of the commercial district. Typical spring weather on the south side of Sin's peninsula, weather pushed in from the west off the sea bringing moist air and rains with it. Rain or shine, it didn't matter to Piper. She was up at 0600, coffee made, put into a thermos, put into her back pack, hair braided and up in a bun, jogging shoes on and out the door for her run to the University. She remembered her light hoodie this time. Placed her earbuds in her ears and started jogging toward downtown where The University of Sin was located.

Piper enjoyed jogging to the university. It gave her thirty minutes of no students, no teacher aides, and no other professors talking to her. She enjoyed teaching biochemistry and toxicology especially when it involved venom of reptiles and arachnids. She was fascinated on how the venom affected the human body and how a poison mage could manipulate it to affect others. She was no herpetologist but she wasn't just a fan girl. Her studies required samples of venom for test. Some professors liked to call her an alchemist since she was able to manipulate poisons and toxins to either be used medicinally or increase it deadliness by tenfold. She'd be lying if she didn't say she had multiple job offers from big pharmaceutical companies in Sin or big time drug lords that are based out of Pergrande or Bellum. She even had dark guilds trying to recruit her. She always turned them down. She wasn't in this for money, to make designer drugs or whatever the hell dark guilds were in it for, like resurrection of dark wizards, it just was not her cup of tea. She just enjoyed studying the effects of venom on the human body and how to combat it and poison mages.

She just wanted to study her hypotheses, prove theories, play with her snakes, and maybe one day find Mr. Right. At least that what most girls wanted, Piper had found plenty of Mr. Wrongs and Mr. Right-Nows. She would meet guys and once they found out she was actually an intelligent woman and had a large terrarium in her apartment, they bolted never to be heard of again. She did meet this one guy. He was pretty cool. Smart challenged her mind, body built by the Gods. He was a seith mage. His eyes were a beautiful amethyst purple with those concentric circles. Her brother, Riko, found out about him and she never seen him again. Piper hated when her brother interfered in her love life. He made sure she had protection in her apartment. Three deadbolts, a security system linked to the guild, and a 9mm handgun in her nightstand drawer. He even taught her how to use it. She wasn't as good as him but in her apartment she didn't have to be an expert marksman.

Piper reached the university. She started her cool off walk toward her office. The rain had let up half through her run. Her pack dried a bit during the run. She hoped her other clothes wouldn't be soaked. She entered the Science Building, hustled into her office to get her wet clothes off and get prepared for her first class of the day.

Piper's office was a typical office. She had a desk in the corner that she had a few papers stacked up on and a filing cabinet that might have stuff in it. It was older than she was. She kept most of her class lectures on her Lpad and laptop. She was young for a professor at the age of 26, but she pushed herself hard. She loved what she studied and didn't feel like it was tedious when she was a student. Mom and Dad always told her and her brother "If you do something you love it will never feel like work". Piper frowned at thinking about her parents. She stripped off her wet top and jogging pants, traded them for black loose slacks, and a light blue loose blouse that buttoned to just above her bust. She had a silver necklace with a pendant that had a little silhouette of a fox sitting with its big bushy tail behind it. Riko got it for her for her 24th birthday. He told her to think of him when she wore it. He tried several times over the years to get her to join the guild. Even told her they took non-mages, she would be a great asset with her smarts, as he called it. As she thought about the entire conversation, she rolled her eyes and took a look at herself in the mirror to make sure she looked presentable for her day worth of lectures and lab time. She walked out of her office locked the door and went to the lecture hall.

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It had been a long day and Piper was so ready to go home and soak in her tub until she was a prune. Her back ached from being bent over a microscope and laptop. She would normally job home but she was exhausted more than usual. She entered her office and her Lphone went off in a special ring tone for her dad. "Hello, Papa." She said with a drained tone in her voice.

"Buenas noches, sweetheart. You sound exhausted. Did you remember to eat today between your classes and snakes?" Oscar Hatchet asked his daughter. He was always concerned about his daughter. He didn't think that she should be living on her own and should be married with at least one grandchild for him to spoil by now. Although, he learned the hard way not to push his hard headed daughter. He learned to respect that she was very capable to live on her own and make her own decisions. He was very proud of her accomplishments, PhD in biochemistry and head of her department at The University of Sin, his Alma mater. He just worried now that she would forget to eat and care for own self as she does her little pets.

"Papa I'm fine. Just a little tired. Yes, I did eat lunch today. I haven't had supper yet but I'm meeting Riko for that." Piper soothed her father's worries. She knew he worried about her not eating. She did sometimes forget. Riko always had dinner with her though.

"Muy bien. Let you brother know I called and that I pray for him all the time. I know his work is dangerous as a guild mage." Oscar told his daughter.

"Papa, you can call Riko yourself you know." Piper told her father with a slight annoyance.

"Yes, Piper I know I can call your brother but that doesn't mean he will answer his phone when I do call."

Piper sighed, "I'll talk to him about it. So why did you call me Papa. It's not like you to call without a reason. I know it wasn't to tell me that Riko doesn't answer his phone."

"Well, sweetheart. Lucas and I wanted you to come visit us in Fiore. We have gotten settled and Lucas would love to meet his beautiful and intelligent step daughter." Oscar asked with a hint of hope. He knew the divorce between Nicole and himself didn't sit well with his children even though they were adults when it happened. Of his children, Piper was more open to his relationship with Lucas than Riko. The divorce was amicable. Georgia was still his best friend. Oscar himself wouldn't have come to term of being gay without her help. Georgia was very supportive. Most wives would have been angry and vindictive, but not his Nicole.

"Papa, I would to come visit you and Lucas but…I can't…"

"…leave your work or your little pets. Piper of course you can. I know you have teacher aides that can feed you little friends that eat what once a week and you do all your work on your laptop. Just come visit your Papa. Maybe we can find you a new pet for your personal terrarium?" Oscar called her out. He knew his daughter was married to her work. It was one of the many reasons she was still single.

"Fine Papa. I'll come to Fiore." Piper finally gave in. "Give me two weeks so I can make arrangements."

"Of course. Lucas will be excited to know that he gets to meet you finally. You will like him." Piper could hear the smile in her father's voice. They ended the call. Piper's phone went off again but it was a text message from Riko.

BigBro: _Running l8 4 dinner. Meet me at usual place?_

Piper: _Sure :( order same thing? And how late?_

BigBro: _Uh…1 hr…tops no frowny faces. Job is running over_

Piper: _kk I'll be w8ing_

Piper stuffed her phone into her pack slung it over her shoulder, checked her babies real quick and left for the day. Piper had to kill an hour so she wonder over to the local pet shop to see if they had any pinkies for her snakes and crickets for her spiders.

The little bell dinged as she entered Jeff's Pet Emporium. "Good evening Piper. Are you here for some yummies for your babies?" an older man asked from behind the counter.

"Hi Jeff. Yeah I'm getting low and need some more pinkies and crickets." Piper greeted Jeff with a smile. As Jeff went to the back to get her order, she walked around and looked at the puppies, kittens and birds. Adorable little fuzzies that made most people go 'aww', Piper wondered away from those and made her way to the reptiles. Jeff had the usual constrictors, lizards, frogs and toads. She slowly worked her way down the line of glass cases when her eye caught something she had only seen in books. A small white egg with small black swirls on the upper edge that to the untrained layperson would have just been wrote off as a defect in the eggshell, but to a trained eye, it indicated the species type. Piper was ecstatic over the find. She kept her excitement contained when Jeff returned with her order. She asked the older graying haired man, "Jeff how much for that egg in the case?"

"Uh…the egg…I just got that yesterday. I'm not even sure what it is. What would you give me for it, Piper? You know these things better than I do." The man offered with a smile. Piper was his best reptile customer.

"Hmm…I'll give you 1000 Jewel for the egg, Jeff. Fair?" Piper offered.

"Sounds good to me. I'll get it prepared for you to take with you."

Piper left the pet shop happier than she had been in a while. She was so excited that she found a Havati flying serpent egg. She was curious as to how Jeff came across it since that species is only indigenous to Bosco and not just Bosco but an island in the Great Grass Sea. These serpents were venomous. They were beautiful and a revered serpent by a once thriving clan. The literature reports that they even have wings and their poison is highly toxic. Piper was so lost in her thoughts she almost forgot where she was going. She adjusted her pack and headed towards Frank's Crab Shack. It started drizzling again as she made her way there.

The hostess seated her in her and Riko usual table. Their waitress took her order which was always the same. Riko finally showed up fifteen minutes later than he said he would.

"There's my beautifully weird sister." Riko said as he draped his arms around her shoulder and gave her a quick hug and peck on the cheek. He sat himself down in his seat. It was a corner seat where he could see the entire restaurant while they ate and talked. Even since he was kidnapped when they were teenagers and taken to Pergrande. Piper isn't sure to this day how Riko got out of that mess and made it back home. "How was school?" He asked as he took a long drink of his ice water.

"Uh…how about we start with why you have a black eye and busted lip…I thought you stayed out of the hand to hand shit?" Piper gave him a hard concerned look at her brother. She knew he tried to stay out of the hand-to-hand combat because he was a gun quip mage. He would rather shot a target from far off than be up and personal. She narrowed her yellow eyes on her brother's identical ones.

"Yeah…well…you see there was this mage…and well…he decided he wanted to…uh…yeah…be in my personal space…but don't worry sis, he got a good look at my twin ladies. Hehe" Riko laughed darkly. His twin ladies were his twin Berettas he only pulled out in case he was in confined spaces. Otherwise, her brother uses a long range Remington with a scope. He keeps them all in his pocket dimension at fingers reach. Her brother was a very accomplished gunquip mage.

His smile of course disarmed her. She could never stay mad at him with his boyish smile. Piper just rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever. You're alive. I ordered you're regular seafood dish. Oh, Papa called he wants to talk to you…and uh…he wants me to come to Fiore to meet Lucas."

Riko stilled and looked up at his sister. He hated that their parents divorced. He felt like their father betrayed their mother even though they both explained that it wasn't like that. Riko had a hard time accepting that his father was gay. "Uh…ok…you want me to feed your critters?"

"Yes…but that's not why I'm tel…"

"I'm not talking about it Piper. Can we change the subject?"

"Sure"

Their food came and they ate in silence. When they finished, Riko paid for the food, "I want you to join the guild Piper. It would make things easier for you if you did. Sam has already approved you as a member and has a lab set up for you to move right in. You can teach there and do whatever you do with the backing of a legal guild. I don't have to worry about drug lords and dark mage guilds abducting you. Think about it, ok." He picked up his duster and left.

"Well there is one of the things that's bothering him out in the open. He thinks I'm going to be abducted by drug lords or dark mages." Piper said to no one with a sigh. She was always so frustrated with her brother. He was a closed up person unless it involved the guild, guns, or him shooting things.

Piper got back to her apartment before a downpour started. She was still thinking about what her brother said. She made her mind up. She was going to talk to Papa about it and think it over the next two weeks. She hurried into her apartment to get her newly prized possession into one of her terrariums. Since she was going to be gonna for two weeks she had to clean her cages and milk her babies. She didn't keep constrictors. She only owned the venomous variety at home and milked them every three weeks. She had an empty area that she set up for the same conditions as the Great Grass Sea and gently placed her egg. Now she just waited.

After all her babies were taken care of, she went to her bathroom and started the water with her favorite bubble bath scent lemongrass. It was so refreshing and invigorating. She loved the scent of lemons in general. She cleaned with lemons in her apartment. It was a natural cleaning and didn't harm her little scaly friends. Piper checked her water temp, disrobed and slide down in the water. She let out a huge sigh as the almost too hot water warmed her to the bones.

An hour later, Piper got out of the water, toweled off, and wrapped her deep purple hair up in the towel. She put her lotion on her tan skin and pulled on one of Riko's old t-shirts that was three sizes too big on her petite frame. She walked out into toward her bedroom but noticed a hint of cigarette smoke in the air. Piper didn't smoke. Her blood ran cold and fear gripped her. She got her body to move toward her bedroom. She scrambled for her nightstand but the handgun that Riko gave her was not there. She heard a deep male voice laugh. "Oi, cutie. Don't boddah for dat pea shootah. We's already got it whiles yous was in da tub. Aren't wes gentlmenly? Ha Ha."

Piper slammed her bedroom door. She was breathing hard trying not to panic but it was difficult considering there was at one man in her apartment that she didn't let in. "Who the fuck are you and why the hell are you in my apartment?" She yelled through the door.

"Bossman wanted us to come and change your mind about coming to work for 'im. He said to tells you he'll give you whatever you want. He needs a good alchemist or something like that. Besides, you're a pretty dame too. Yous look good on da boss's arm. Ha ha look at me playing match matcher."

"I don't work for drug lords or dark guilds. I work for myself. You can tell your boss that. I've turned down all the drug lords. At least they've had the decency to NOT break into my apartment and scare the shit out of me." Piper yelled trying to hide the shaking in her voice. All of that is true. Drug lords have always been after her to design drugs for them. They are usually polite despite their volatile nature. They like to keep their candy makers happy. This is a first, breaking into her apartment.

"Bossman says yous say dat. He says he's not taking no for an answer this time…" the laughter in the voice disappeared.

Piper started panicking. She needed to get out now. She ran to her bedroom window and shimmied down the fire escape in the rain no shoes and only a t-shirt and panties. She started running. Her mind was reeling of thought of fleeing. She was able to get a few blocks was before her mind could think a bit clearer. She needed to get to the guild. She knew the guild was a few miles from her apartment to the west. It was dark and raining. She started hearing male voices shouting. She took off running toward the guild. She knew Riko would keep her safe. She wasn't a mage and how was she supposed to stay safe if anyone could just break into her apartment with three deadbolts and a security alarm without her knowing it. She knew there had to be a mage among them. She ran faster, her lungs burning, her legs burning. She saw the guildhall. She rushed through the courtyard and started banging on the door. She didn't have a guild emblem so the doors wouldn't open for her after hours. She kept banging until the doors opened and she spilled into the main hall soaking wet with bloody bare feet.

Nick heard the banging on the door and wondered who the hell was banging on the door this late. He opened the door and as soon as he did a wet bloody shaking purple mess fell into the main hall. He instantly recognized that purple mane anywhere, Piper Hatchet. "What the fuck Piper?! You're soak and wet in just a t-shirt and your feet are bleeding! What happened? Do I need to pulled Riko back from his mission?"

Piper had to get her brain out of panic mode to recognize the blond man that was picking her up off the floor, "Nick! Oh Gods they broke into my apartment and were gonna take me to go make their drugs and my babies are there and they got through my deadbolts and security system and took my gun that Riko gave me and…and…and…" Piper just broke down into sobs as Nick carried her to the guild infirmary so he could look at her feet. She clung to him for warmth and safety. Just knowing that someone she knew she felt safe and started relaxing but her mind wouldn't stop reeling.

Nick placed Piper on the cot and looked over her feet. They were dirty swollen and had several abrasions but nothing that needed to be sewn up. He cleaned them up and wrapped them. He was a water mage that used his magic for healing. His magic healed deep wounds deadly wounds. For non-lethal injuries he was stuck with traditional methods. His healing wasn't as powerful as a dragon slayer's healing that he has read about in magazine and books. He was a bit envious of Wendy Marvell and Cristoff Pradesh. They could heal would so completely, there was no scars. He wasn't a shabby just a different school of healing. He kept his guild mates alive to get to the hospital more often than not.

Nick was able to get Piper settled down warm and dry clothing. He wouldn't push her for any more information. He had enough to tell him what had happened. Riko told him that she would get offers all the time from pharmaceutical companies' dark guilds and drug lords. She always turned them down without issues until now. Someone wasn't taking to take no for an answer this time. It was late and Nick made sure Piper was comfortable before he went to wake the Sam. He knew he wasn't going to be happy about this. No one was gonna be happy; Piper and Riko grew up around they guild. Piper hadn't been to the guild in years. This was probably this first time since she left for the University when she was sixteen. Nick sighed and thought to himself, yep somebody just went an pissed in Sam's Wheaties.


	2. Chapter 2 Why did it have to be snakes?

A/N Thanks for reading. I don't own Fairy Tail or the Pradesh's.

Sam was woken up just after midnight by banging on the guildhall doors. Who the hell is making all this racket. He started down toward the main hall when the banging had stopped and her heard Nick talking to a woman who was crying. This caused a surged of protectiveness to fill Sam because he recognized the woman's voice. He knew it was Piper Hatchet. He heard everything through her blubbering and manic regurgitation of what happened to her in her apartment. Anger burnt away some of his natural urge of protectiveness. He needed to know who had the balls to break into her apartment. He made sure that she had a very sophisticated security system in place. He knew it was hard to disarm without the code because the mage that created it was in his guild. She was a tech mage.

Tommy was not only able to write code for existing technology but she was able to create new technology. Sam grinned to himself over the fact he was able to persuade Tommy to come to Sin from Bosco before she was recruited by White Seas. Sam knew that Kaleb Pradesh was more than just a Wizard Saint Mindbender. He knew he liked to tinker with tech magic as well. Kaleb created their whole guild electronic system. Sam had sweetened the pot for Tommy to come to Sin with the fact that Tommy would have free rein over the Foxes Tech department as head of the department. He picked up his cell and called Tommy.

His call was answered immediately, "Sam, what's up? It's kinda late for you to be calling me. What happen…did you get a virus from a porn site?" Tommy snickered. There was club music playing the background.

"Hehe no but I'm about to ruin your buzz and probably your night…You know that security system I had you put in for Riko's sister?" Sam asked with seriousness in his voice.

"Yeah what about it? She lock herself out or something?"

"No someone broke into her apartment, cracked your system to do it…while she was in the place."

"The fuck?! I'll be right there. Had to be a mage. Any regular non-magical hacker couldn't break my code." Tommy was fuming and her buzz was fading. She paid her tab at the bar and headed to the guild.

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By the time the sun rose in the morning, Sam had most of the information he needed to start looking for the mages that broke into Piper's apartment. He had already sent the most of what he knew out to his "Eyes and Ears" division of the guild. They were his spies and moles. They were a mixture of mages and non-mages depending on the situation. He had them everywhere in West Nitespring, including The Great Tribune. The Great Tribune was the governing body of Sin. It worked like a large council then broke down into smaller parts, economics, military, legislation for magic and non-magic and so on. Sam liked to keep an eye on them because sometimes the dirtiest group could be the government itself.

Sam took a deep breath and walked to the infirmary where Piper was resting. Nick had told him she was fine other than she was spooked and her feet were scraped up pretty bad since she ran to the guild barefoot in the rain in nothing but an oversized t-shirt. Sam knew she was a tough cookie for being a normal human. She was the youngest in her class and graduated with honors with a PhD in biochemistry and toxicology at the age of 23. Sam watched both her and Riko grow up at the Red Fox guild. Both their parents were mages, Oscar and Georgina Hatchet.

Oscar was a Reflector mage and Georgina was a gun quip mage. Oscar was able to keep Georgina protected while she was able to get some impossible and impressive shots off while being under the pressure of a hail of magic or bullets. Riko followed in his mother's footsteps as a gunner but Piper never developed an magical abilities. That didn't matter to anyone. Both children were loved just the same and treated the same; just the training had to vary a little bit. No one ever thought the children that born in the guild without magic were weak. They were all treated the same as much as possible. Classes at the guild varied somewhat for the non-magical children so that they could better protect themselves. They got really creative at it as well. Piper was a little book worm with her deep purple braids and odd fascination with snakes. Come home with little wiggly snakes in her pockets and dirt all over her with a huge smile on her face. Riko was the typical older brother, watched over Piper, teased her, kept boys at bay which drove her crazy. He disappeared when he was eighteen for almost a year and came back a changed person. He refused to talk about it other than he was in Pergrande not by choice. Sam or his parents never pushed him. They figured he would come to them when he was ready. That's been almost ten years now.

Sam entered the infirmary room and saw Piper sitting up on the bed talking with Nick who was looking at her feet. Sam cleared his throat, "So Nick, I see our sleeping beauty is awake and doing well." He smiled at Piper.

"Morning Sam. Yeah her feet are looking tons better thanks to an awesome water mage that likes to hang out around here." Nick smirked at Sam and Piper. "I'll be off. Everything looks good Piper. You can go when you're ready. I'm heading to the beach to catch some waves or make them. See ya girlie." Nick hugged the purplette on the bed and shook hands with his guild master.

"Yeah and when you see that water mage let him know he has some job assignments waiting on him before the call of the ocean. Later man Thanks for taking care of her." Sam laughed as he shook Nick's hand.

Piper watched the two men exchange their pleasantries. She thought about what Riko told her last night. The offer from Sam to join the guild so that she could be safe. She thought she was safe. Safe from the 'bad guys' the darkness in the world once she closed and locked her door and turned on that security system that Riko insisted that she have Tommy put in. She knew that no one could crack that system, at least that's what she though. She was lulled into complacency. This drug lord was not taking NO for answer, but she didn't know which one it was. She got offers all the time. It's not like she kept a log of who propositioned her. Maybe she needed to join the guild to be safe and maybe she needed to get out of Sin for a little bit. Stay with Papa in Magnolia until Sam could get things settled down here in West Nitespring. Piper and most of the kids that grew up in the guild as the uncle that spoiled you by letting you stay up too late or letting you drink that beer when no one else was looking but don't ever cross the man. He could deal out appropriate punishment. Piper looked over at the auburn haired man, "Sam I'm sorry for all of this…"

Sam hugged the petite woman as if she was his own daughter, "Stop that. You don't need to apologize. You know that this door is always open to you. Of course it would have literally been open to you if you would stop being so stubborn and let me put the guild emblem on you." He teased her with a smile that crinkled his eyes. "I know you like your independence and don't want to rely on anyone blah blah blah. I've heard it how many times now? I've told you, you have an standing offer to become a guild member. Hell I'll move all your little friends here. I have room on the fourth floor. You can have the whole fourth floor if you want it to do your work and whatever it is you do with it. I don't want to stifle you. You know you would have your life with the extra protection of a guild backing you."

"I know your right Sam. I'm grateful that you and Papa have let me have my independence. After what happened last night, I think I need to come here. That brute of a man scared the shit out of me and in my own apartment. Those drug lords aren't usually so pushy. I don't even know who he was working for. He was going…gonna…" Piper sudden started crying at the thought of what could have happened if she hadn't have gotten out of her apartment. Sam was right there to calm her nerves.

"Shh…its ok…you're safe now…you know I wouldn't let anything happen to you." He soothed her.

"Papa wants me to come to Fiore next week for a visit. I think I might go early after what happened. Can I ask you a favor to move my apartment to the guild? I think I need to get out of the country for a bit to somewhere where no one knows me."

"I would love to get you moved to the guild. I'll tell your mom and brother when they get back from Midi. They are out there hunting some troublesome monster. You know how they love hunting."

"Sam…uh…do you care…to…uh…go to my apartment with me? I know your busy…" Piper asked. She felt like a little girl again asking Sam something so simple but she was still shook up.

"Absolutely kiddo." Sam said. He stood up and walk over to the door. "I'll let you get dressed. I think Nick left some clothes here for you. See you downstairs."

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Piper felt panic rise in up in her chest and squeeze her heart. Her breathing started to quicken, sweat broke out over her back chest and face. She felt like she was going to vomit.

Sam sense the change in Piper and steadied her. He didn't push her. He let her lead him at her own pace. He knew she had to face this on her own terms and he knew she would.

After a few minutes of mental pep talking, Piper entered her apartment building and went up to her floor. Sam took the lead once they reached her apartment. The door was slightly ajar. He went in and requiped his long sword and armor quickly waiting for someone to attack. When no one attacked he requipped his gear back. He was once again standing in his causal faded blue jean and black tank top. Piper almost started crying again when she saw that her apartment was trashed. Everything that she worked so hard for; her photos, furniture and her terrariums; broken smashed slashed. It was a message sent loud and clear that NO was not being taken. They even killed her pets, every one of them dead. The only one they didn't touch was her little havati egg because they didn't know what it was. Tears were running down her face. She didn't care about her personal belongings they could be replaced, but her babies they were living creatures that weren't hurting anyone. She hoped one of them was able to bite one of those motherfuckers before they killed them.

With her tear-stained face she went to her kitchen and was able to find a plastic bowl with a resealable lid. She went to her egg, scooped up some of the sand, and carefully placed her precious egg in it. It looked like it was ready to hatch anytime. She went to her fridge and grabbed some of the frozen pinkies to take with her. She then went to what was left of her bedroom and grabbed a few changes of clothes that wasn't destroyed. She looked at Sam with rage in her eyes "Find who did this Sam, make them pay. My babies didn't deserve this."

"I will Piper. The Foxes will find them and we will take care of them. I promise." Sam said with a tight voice. He hated to see her upset and he had to quell his own rage as they left her apartment.

They returned to the Red Fox guild compound. They walked through the manicured courtyard that opened to the sidewalk. The green mages kept it beautifully maintained. The building itself looked like the other multi-story glass building around it. They entered in the motion detector sliding doors that opened up into a large very open ground floor modern décor with large pieces of artwork hanging on the walls, lacrima screens showing directions to visitors. Several people moving here and there were going on about their duties at the guild. Many waved at Sam. The Red Foxes weren't a large guild but it wasn't small either. Sam had to manage 300+ members with new members every week including recruitment all across Ishgar. West Nitespring was an international trading port in Sin, Sam liked to keep the guild very diverse. He escorted Piper to his office. There he knew she would have privacy to talk to Oscar without eavesdropping spies that were most likely all around where she was living at to showdown her movements.

"Hello, Sam…" the reflector mage started with a hint of confusion in his voice at his former guild master and old friend calling him on her personal cell.

"No, Papa…It's me…Piper…" Piper started but just started sobbing at having to relive what she saw at her apartment. Sam gently took the phone from Piper. "Oscar, she needs to come stay with you for a while. Is that fine with you and Lucas?" Sam asked after he recapped everything that had happened since he last spoke with his daughter on the her phone.

"Sam, please don't let her come alone…" Oscar pleaded to her old friend.

"Oscar, you know me better than that. She will be protected. She doesn't have much." Sam reassured him that Piper would be protected and reiterated that she only had one bag of clothing and her little egg left of everything she owned.

"I'm not worried about material items Sam. Just make sure my daughter gets to Magnolia unharmed. I know it is a two week trip by air ship to Hargeon and then another day by train. Do you mind letting Georgi and Riko know what happened when they return from Midi?"

"Of course because I'm gonna have two gunners pissed the fuck off when they get back. I'm gonna have to keep them focused on something." Sam smirked as he said that. "Not to mention I already have some angry Foxes on the trail of these dirt bags anyway. No one hurts family, you know that Oscar."

There was a knock on the door and Sam bid them entrance as he finished his phone call. Tommy sashayed in with her magenta streaked chocolate colored hair braided into twin tails down her back and a black gothic Lolita dress with her combat boots. She didn't wear the traditional knee high socks with this outfit. She might have remembered to put socks on with her boots, just her long tan legs that her Boscan heritage blessed her with. Her lipstick matched her hair. She smiled sadly at Sam and shook her head before Piper turned around. "Tommy! Oh my Gods! I haven't seen you in forever!" Piper jumped up and hugged the woman.

"How's my ultra-smart chica doing" Tommy grinned widely as she hugged Piper and gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead leaving a lipstick mark where she kissed her. Tommy pulled her back, "You did get the guild emblem on you right, girlie? I can't have you running around here without it now." The brunette looked at her and then at Sam.

"Hold on to your boots, Tommy. I just got off the phone with Oscar and you came in. I was just about to ask Piper where she wanted it at." Sam said in a light hearted tone. "Piper where do you want the emblem at?"

"Uh…my left forearm, please, in black." Piper asked as she held out her left forearm.

"Alright now down to business," Tommy said as she pulled out a small case. "This my little girlie is your new laptop, tablet and Lphone. Custom made by me, of course. I created it. Its untraceable so you can do your work and studies from anywhere you can get Wifi to get on the mageweb. I'd tell you how but I'd probably confused you just as if you told me about biochemistry and poisons. Now that is all I have unless Sam has anything else, our flight is leaving in an hour; I'm going with you to Fiore along with Nick."

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Piper was having conflicted feeling waiting at the air dock for their airship to be ready. She was angry that she was being forced to leave her home country because her life was threatened. She knew that she wouldn't be killed. She was too important for that. She would be used to make designer drugs that would keep the druggies coming back for more, chasing that higher high. She knew as long as she did that the drug lords would keep her like a queen, a queen in a gilded cage. She wouldn't be free to live, to shop, to see her family, to find the love of her life. That is what made her angry.

She was also feeling sadness and loss. She lost her apartment, her life, her independence that she worked so hard to maintain, to prove she was able to do it all on her own without anyone to help her. Sam had told her no one thought she was weak or a failure because she was moving into the Foxes guildhall. He told her everyone knew she was strong enough to survive on her own but she needed to be smart and see the bigger picture. The offers from legitimate companies will still come in, but the dark guilds and the drug lords are starting to get braver. The proof was all her babies were dead, except her little egg. That was where her sadness and loss hurt the most. Living things were murdered because of her.

She was happy though she was going to be able to go see her Papa and Lucas. She was always Papa's girl. What little girl wasn't a papa's girl. When Papa had told Riko and her that he was gay, it didn't really surprise her really. He would always help her with her hair and make-up and other things most mothers would do with their daughters. Her mother would do things with her too but not like her Papa. When they sat her and Riko down when she was 20 and Riko 22, told them that they were divorcing amicably. Piper was very supporting of both her parents and gave them both hugs. Riko said nothing and left after he asked if that was all? Piper tried to talk to Riko about but he wouldn't and changed subjects. Papa met Lucas a few years ago while Lucas was on holiday in Sin. They finally were married last year and moved to Fiore where Lucas was from. Piper was so happy now she had Papa and a step Papa.

"Penny for your thoughts, serpent girl…" Nick asked as he draped his long tan arms over her shoulders.

"Pfft, don't call me that. I know you loved them too. Deep down you were a snake fan, water boy." Piper deflected as she laughed and shoved Nick's arm off her. "I was just thinking about them anyway…" She drifted off.

Nick grabbed her up in a hug. She was right deep down her loved her 'babies' as she called them. He wouldn't handle them like she did. He knew one bite from any of them and he was a dead man, even with his healing powers.

His healing worked like a combat medic, keeping people alive until the major healers got there or the trauma surgeons. That is what Sin had to offer, highly trained and specialized surgeons and doctors. Healing magic was rare, Nick was lucky have learned how to use his water magic to manipulate the water in the blood to keep it where it was supposed to be. That was the extent of his 'healing'. This is why Sin had such a huge pharmaceutical base and hi-tech hospitals. The medical community in Sin were experts in healing mages and non-mages alike. The medical professionals were looking in better ways to manage the magic deficiency disease that afflicted mages.

"Where are my hugs, water boy?" Tommy pouted as she pulled a sucker from her mouth that made a pop. She loved to tease Nick about his hugs. Tommy grew up in Pelerno, Bosco. She moved to Sin after she graduated from the University. She was full-blooded Boscan woman who enjoyed her pleasures. She had her sudepah training at age 14. She wasn't clan borne, so she didn't sport any tattoos. She did love to get physical attention from Nick though. Tommy sidled up to the two hugging and hugged them both. She kissed Piper on the check leaving her signature lipstick mark. When Piper let go to wipe the magenta lipstick off her cheek, Tommy snagged Nick into a lip lock would have left a normal man sagging, but Nick was Boscan as well and used to Tommy. Nick wasn't born in Bosco. He was born here in Sin but he was raised Boscan all the same. His parents even had a sudepah flown in for his training. Unlike Tommy, he was clan born from Clan Felarnas. His parents left the clans years ago for Sin. His mother feared for their safety because her aunt was a seith mage as well as her cousin. Her cousin Tess was seeing a shadow mage. Nick's parents just had a bad feeling about it and left for Sin, but raised him as if they were in Bosco no the less.

"OK, you two, don't make me get a hose. We are in public so if your done…" Piper cleared her throat.

Tommy let Nick go and looked at Piper, "Puh-lease, chica. Don't knock it til you try it. I'm sure Nicky here would get you all wet and let you play on the slip and slide. When was the last time you got laid anyway? Christmas party two years ago?" Tommy teased with a giggle.

"Tommy really? I had work to do and I had my experiments and I had to take care of my babies…" Piper rolled her eyes at Tommy with a burning red face. "Anyway, I think it's time to board isn't it…" Trying hard to change the subject.

They boarded the airship, many people getting on as many people were getting off. Two weeks to get to Firoe because there was a layover in Minstrel and then a day on a train into Magnolia. Piper walked to their cabin. She entered the modest cabin with two beds and a bathroom. It was decorated in simple colors of grays and blues. She set her bag down and pulled out the little plastic container to check on the precious contents. She opened the lid slowly. Her yellow eyes were the size of dishes at the site see saw in the container.

There in the little bowl on the bit of sand she had gathered was a little maroon colored ball of scales. She saw the tiny little head in the middle of the coil. It's little tongue darted in and out. Piper was over the moon that her little havati serpent egg had survived and hatched. She started digging through her bag again and found the container that held the pinkies. She put one in the bowl very carefully and returned the lid. She knew the little snake would eat when it was ready.

One week into the trip, they were getting ready to dock in Minstrel. Piper was content sitting and surfing the web researching her little baby. She named her little baby Flick and he was not like her regular snakes she owned in the past. He was active and loved to slither up her arms and burrow in her hair when she pulled her purple tresses up in loose styles. He never tried to bite her. Her research on Flick was limited. There wasn't much other than some myths about them being sentient beings. Some myths said they were worshipped as Gods of the wind. Piper was a scientific woman. All she had was science in this magical world. She couldn't wave her hand and something wondrous happen, talk to animals, hell she couldn't even protect herself. She closed her laptop, made sure Flick was tuck securely in her hair, and left her cabin. She always wanted to see Minstrel.


	3. Snake on an Airship

A/N I just wanted to put this note here to explain my thought process of Sin's drug rings. I have in a way took the real Central American drug cartel and the 1950's/60's Mafia and made a baby, not a pretty baby anyone wants to cuddle but one that has the hints of the Spanish language and thick New Yorker accent. I am not trying to romanticize this in anyway.

In my mind, Sin is a Spanish decent country but with the huge economic boom in West Nitespring, it's just like New York with all the different cultures. It's a giant melting pot of cultures that America was/is supposed to be. I've only introduced a few of my OCs in this story thus far and they are Boscan. Tommy was born and raised in Pelerno that Desna created and Nick was born in Sin but raised as much a Boscan as possible, while Piper and Riko are native of Sin hence my terrible Spanish I've tried to incorporate (High school Spanish 25 years ago, oops, I dated myself). I'm not saying anything about Sam at this point.

Thanks for reading. Please leave reviews. Anything that will help me with the Latin culture would be great.

Chapter 3

Snake on an Airship

Piper was out on the deck of the airship as it came into dock as Capresa, Minstrel. Looking over the deck, the lights of Capresa were beautiful with the sun setting off into the west. She felt Flick curling up inside her loose bun on her head. It was getting cooler at night so he would retreat up into her hair. He was still small enough to fit in one of her hands. Her supply of pinkies was holding well for this two-week trip. There was still about 4 days on the air ship and 1 day on a train and she would be in Magnolia with her Papa. She watched the people board the ship. She found people watching just as fun as her research and playing with Flick. She noticed some commotion at the loading ramp. A raven haired man and a pink haired man arguing vehemently over something but before things got to heated a redheaded woman and a blonde woman separated them before they boarded. The rest of the people boarding were nothing memorable.

Piper pushed off from the rail the boarding was nearly complete. She headed to the restaurant/bar that was onboard. She figured she would find either Nick or Tommy there getting dinner and a drink. She threaded her way down below deck through the newcomers. The Air Oasis was packed tonight due to those getting settled onboard. She made her way to the bar and took an open stool, ordered a water, and looked over the dining area to see if she could find Tommy or Nick. She didn't see them but went ahead and ordered a to go burger and bottle of wine.

"Is this seat taken?" came a deep smooth masculine voice. Piper turned and seen it was the dark haired man from the tussle at the loading deck. She didn't see any of his entourage with him.

"No, it's free." She said. She heard him order a scotch no ice. She was absently stirring the straw in her water when the bartender brought the man his drink. She was surprised when the made his own ice cube for his drink. "Thought you didn't want any ice in your drink? You just out some in there." She asked with a little grin as she looked as the man.

"Heh yeah. I just like to make my own. I'm Gray by the way." Gray offered with a smile.

"Piper. I'm just waiting on my dinner to go. I can't make my own ice…" Piper said with a nervous laugh. Oh my Gods Piper way to sound like an idiot in front of this mage who could freeze you in place.

Gray laughed, "It's all good. I only know a one other mage like myself. What magic do you use anyway?" His dark eyes met her yellow ones and Piper was drawing a blank. He wasn't being flirty or ostentatious. He was just making some idle conversation.

After a pause Piper's brain got back into gear, "Uh…well…uh…don't…use magic that is…I'm not a mage. I'm just a regular mundane human." Piper stammered. His reaction was not what Piper was used to.

"That's cool. I wouldn't call yourself mundane. I bet you do something important where you are from. I only asked because of the guild mark on your forearm." He smiled at her. "Your accent is nice too. Where are you from anyway? I can't place your accent."

Piper was caught off guard. She completely forgot about her guild emblem. She smiled, "Oh I'm from Sin. Our guild, the Red Foxes, accepts mages and non-mages. My brother is a mage. I did not inherit that from our parents. I studied hard to earn my PhD in biochemistry and toxicology at the University of Sin in West Nitespring." Piper felt at ease talking to Gray. He had such a calm demeanor and so easy to talk to. They continued to talk. She found out that he was returning from Minstrel with his team and that he was in Fairy Tail.

The bartender brought her order to her. "Oh this is me. It was nice talking to you Gray. I'll see you around the airship. I have four more days until we get to Hargeon. That's my stop."

"Uh…do you care if I walk you back to your room?" Gray asked hesitantly. He honestly liked talking to Piper. She was smart and funny. She didn't talk to herself like Juvia did or do that other creepy shit the water mage would do.

"Sure…" Piper was surprised because typically when mage finds out she isn't one they try to leave the conversation quickly. Gray though he seemed to like to talk to her about things that didn't involve magic. He asked questioned about her. Piper enjoyed it. Her other problem with dating not that she was considering this a date, her intelligence wasn't scaring Gray away. If her not being a mage ran the men off her intelligence did. She felt like she was a double edged sword to keep mean away.

As they walked to her cabin, they continued talking about her work with snakes and her theories on how she was trying to manipulate snake venom for more than anti-venoms. "This is me. I've had a great time talking with you. Hopefully we can talk more." Piper said with a genuine smile.

"Yeah I had a great time too. See you around." Gray smiled back. He walked off toward his cabin Erza told him was theirs. He went to the bar to get a drink and to get away from Natsu and his big mouth. He started running his mouth again just as they were boarding the airship about something Gray couldn't even remember. Erza and Lucy had to break them up again. He was so frustrated. He just needed some space from his longtime friend. He loved him like a brother but sometimes your brother knows the right buttons to push to send you over the edge. They had been on a mission for almost a month in Minstrel. He just wanted to be away from the pink haired dragon slayer. When he walked into the Air Oasis bar he wasn't looking for women like he would sometimes. No, he was just looking for a stiff drink, but he found Piper. A smart woman that wasn't a mage and had a PhD in biochemistry. He'd be the first to admit it, he didn't understand most of what she was talking about but he didn't care. He liked having a conversation with someone that wasn't about magic and the end of the world for once. It was nice to forget about everything that had happened after the Alverez War. He was so lost in thought about yellow citrine eyes and deep purple hair that he didn't notice the pillow that smacked him in the face when he walked into his cabin.

"Ice balls! Where you been?" Natsu asked with a wicked grin on his face "And why do you smell…like scotch and…a lady? I know you didn't get lucky because I would smell that too, hehe"  
"Shut it flamebrain! I'm tired of your big yap!" Gray tossed back at the dragon slayer. "Even if I did get laid not like it's any of your business. Besides, you don't even like girls like that anyway." Gray hissed.

"Natsu! Gray! Enough! Lucy and I are tired and you two are irritating me worse than sand in my underpants!" Erza warned an edge in her voice that made the two men settle down. She was already curled up in her bed in her fuzzy pink top and pants with crosses on them half asleep.

"Natsu leave Gray alone you've done nothing but egg him on the whole time. I know you two like to pester each other but Erza is right we are exhausted. That mission was tough." Lucy said with exhaustion creeping in her voice. She had an oversized t-shirt on with loose shorts. She crawled in bed the other bed after brushing out her blond hair. "Now go take a shower Natsu you stink. Make sure you wash EVERYWHERE or I'm making you sleep on the floor." She groaned as she tossed a blanket over her head.

"The girls are right man, we're both tired and Lucy's right, you ARE ripe, dude. I'll take my turn when you're done." Gray said with his own tiredness in his voice.

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Piper had finished her burger and fries when Tommy came back from somewhere. Her clothes were a little disheveled, lipstick worn off, glossy eyed and walking a little off. She came over to where Piper was sitting and stole a fry. "Chica, what are you doing still up? Are you still researching your little friend? Where is he by the way, I don't want to get bit."

"Geez, Tommy who got ahold of you? You look like you've been fucked seven ways from Sunday…" Piper said as she looked over her friend with a slightly alarmed look on her face. Tommy was the one that left the other person looking like this not the other way around. "Should I get Nick? Wait I haven't even seen him…were you two together?"

Shadows moved in the room and a man appeared from the shadows. He startled Piper, who jumped up and was frozen with fear by the sudden appearance of a stranger in her room. She halfway climbed up on the desk she was sitting at to try to get further away. "Seven ways from Sunday…hmm…never heard that one…" the man said with a smooth cocky tone in his voice. He had the same accent Tommy did. Tommy wasn't upset that he was here either. He turned around his wine colored eyes met her wide yellow eyes. He had shoulder length dark hair that was streaked with red. He was wearing skintight black leather. If Piper wasn't scared shitless right now she would have found the man very attractive, but since the break in at her apartment she was still feeling a little skittish about men just appearing out of nowhere in front of her.

Piper's brain had flipped into the flight part of fight or flight. Fear had gripped her. She didn't know how to get out of here so she started begging for her life. "Ombra della morte por favor no uccidermi. If you want to come and make drugs for you I will if you don't kill my friends. I promise I won't run from the cartel anymore…please just don't kill us…" Piper had slide to the floor in a heap sobbing.

The man went to reach for her but Flick had darted out of his mama's hair took a tiny stance with his wings flared out weaving back and forth daring the man to touch his mama.

"Vander! Get back that little guy is…" Tommy started but was interrupted when Vander held a hand up to silence her.

"Shh…hey little guy. I'm not here to hurt your lady friend…I just wanted to talk to her…" Vander said to the little serpent that was still in a defensive posture. He let the shadow armor over his right arm disappear to show his clan tattoo. "You know what this is don't you little guy…you know I won't hurt you or your mama here."

Flick weaved back and forth. He looked at the human that was trying to get his mama. He heard his voice. He felt his magic, but when the man showed the tattoo in his skin Flick recognize the shape. It looked like him, a winged serpent. Flick relaxed and slithered down around Pipers hand and looked up at her. He felt her fear but he couldn't talk to her. He would have to the let the human do it.

"Ok great, see your little friend trusts me so how about you trust me…sweetheart. I'm not part of a cartel…" Vander said with a soothing voice. He didn't mean to scare the woman shitless. Her friend Tommy invited him over after they had their fun to hopefully get her friend to relax and who was he to not aid a woman who was in need of relaxation. He also didn't expect the woman to have a baby havati serpent living in her hair. He hasn't seen one of those in forever.

"You swear you aren't with the cartel?" Piper asked the man that Tommy had called Vander with a meek voice. She was still riding the adrenaline dump after seeing a man appear out of nowhere. She knew mages could teleport but she wasn't used to being around mages. She was university professor and jogged to work every morning.

"Ha ha no pretty." Vander offered his hand and Piper took it. His laugh was nice smooth and infectious. Piper couldn't help laugh with him. It was a nervous laugh at first but then she just started laughing at the whole thing til her belly hurt.

Piper and Tommy had told Vander what had happened in West Nitespring. He apologized again for scaring Piper to death. He did offer told Piper what little he knew about Flick. He told her his clan, the Husen Clan, revered them. He didn't know much because he was a small child when the tragedy happened to his clan. Once he got back to Pelerno he would send her the information to her laptop. Piper informed Vander that there may possibly be an illegal animal trade ring in Bosco. Since a havati serpent shouldn't be anywhere near Sin.

"Piper are you sure you wouldn't like to experience how one relaxes in Bosco?" Vander asked with a husky tone in his voice.

"No, gracias buenas noches sombra." Piper said as she turned in to her bed.

"Ok well back to my cabin then. Buenas noches señoras" Vander said as his disappeared into the shadows.

"Tommy, who is Vander and is he a teleport mage or something? He's obviously a horny guy. He he. And he isn't bad looking." Piper asked Tommy when she got out of the shower.

"Oh Piper I'm sorry I really didn't properly introduce you to him did I. That, chica, was the Vander Pradesh from Bosco. And you are the only living breathing single woman that turned the man down for sex…not only is he sex on legs but he's the only shadowquip mage that anyone knows about and last I heard he was still a Blood Hunter. You're lucky you ran into him so he could tell you about your little Flick." Tommy told her with a dreamy sound in her voice.

Nick came into the cabin soon after the girls were getting ready for bed. He came in looking like Tommy did earlier, disheveled, lips swollen and walking a little off. Tommy said one word, "Vander?"

"Yep…" Nick managed to get out as he ambled to the bathroom for a shower.

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The next four days on the airship went by uneventfully. No one else popped out of the shadows or anything else to scare Piper. She met a few more mages while on the way to Magnolia. She met the rest of Gray's team, Natsu, Erza and Lucy. She had found out that they were heading to Magnolia as well. Their guild, Fairy Tail, was based there. Flick had found a new friend with Natsu because he was much warmer than Piper would ever be because of his fire magic. He never strayed too far from her though.

"So Piper you haven't told us what type of magic you use. I bet you are like Nab or Bix or yeah Cobra…talk to souls or at least hear them, that's how Flick talks to you" Natsu surmised at no one as he rubbed his chin.

Piper spit out the water that was in her mouth, "Oh my god, sorry! Talk to souls that…that is the talk of evil. Only seith mages do that. I have never heard of a 'nice' seith mage. I'm not even…" Piper was cut off.

"Natsu, that was rude of you to assume someone magic. It's like asking a lady her age. She will let you know when the time is right." Erza said as she cut off Piper.

Piper was wiping up the water that went everywhere. Thankfully she didn't spit it on anyone. "El loco piensa que soy un mago seith, un mago seith de todos los magos uno de esos malvados. Dioses me ayudan." Piper mutter under her breath.

"Yeah sorry about Natsu. His filter between his mouth and brain I don't think ever formed. He means well and all. He has his mature moments but most of the time he runs off at the mouth." Lucy offered an apology with a smile. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you consider seith magic evil? We have two in our guild. They aren't evil. One can be a little pervy, but never evil."

"Oh sorry. West Nitespring is an international port for sea and air. So along with the legal trade goods, my guild has been working on keeping the illegal trade 'goods' from being moved. Sam , our guild master, works hard at trying to break up slaver rings. Human trafficking is worst here now that the Steel Council has cracked down on it in Bosco. Sin geological nearness to Pergrande makes it a perfect import area and a few days on an airship to Joya. Magical animal trade is there as well. It's illegal in Sin but it doesn't stop the traders. Souls are also traded in there as well. It makes a perfect little set up for seith mages. Keep human and animals under control or just take their souls for that market. A seith mage can make a killing there literally and monetarily. I'm wanted there for my skills in biochemistry to make designer drug for the drug cartel. That's why I'm going to go stay with my papa for a while til Sam can get things figured out. He told me it's safer with papa and Lucas."

"Oh that's horrible. No Bix and Nab aren't like that. Bix is a fun loving kinda guy. If he hears about what happening in Sin he might talk the Thunder Legion into going there and help your guild take care of those seith." Lucy said with sympathy in her voice.

Flick came over and curled around Piper neck. He had grown over the 2 weeks they had been on the air ship. He was now about twelve inches long. He was able to fly a little distance, but Piper only let him fly while they were in the cabin. She figured causing mass hysteria on an airship wasn't a good idea. Nick and Tommy were still around and checked in with her but were hanging back allowing Piper to be independent. Piper appreciated it. She didn't want to use them as a crutch. Tommy and Nick had met her new friends from Fairy Tail.

They docked at Hargeon. Piper said her goodbyes to Tommy and Nick, slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the train station for Magnolia. The weather was warming up it was closer to summer now. Flick was getting more active due to the warmer weather. She was able to find a local pet shop that sold food for Flick since she was running low before the train departed.

Piper wasn't aware of the man that was following them. No one would have been. He looked like an everyday mundane human like Piper herself. He was paid well by an unseen mage to follow a purple haired woman from Sin and report back. He was given a picture. He was told not to interact with her only to follow her at a distance.

Flick took notice of the man in the red and gray striped hoodie. He noticed that the man never came close to mama but he was everywhere that mama was. He adjusted himself on his mama's neck to keep watch of the man. He knew he couldn't talk to mama but he tried to talk to the warm pink hair dragon, but his thoughts were jumbled and difficult to push through. It was like they spoke two different languages. He would keep guard and wait til he could try to speak with the Bix or Nab creatures the pink haired dragon mentioned. He relaxed a bit when he noticed the dark hair ice mage walked up to his mama.

"Piper, there you are. Did you get what you needed for Flick? The train is leaving in about 5 minutes." Gray asked Piper.

"Oh yeah. I was just looking at the other stuff they had for reptiles. Kinda limited here. Do you think Magnolia will have a better selection?" Piper asked with a slight disappointment in her voice.

"I honestly have no idea. I've never owned a pet let alone a snake." Gray said as they hurried to the train.

Gray and Piper boarded the train and walked to the car that the train company set aside for the Fairy Tail guild due to their knack for attracting trouble. When they entered the car, Gray was confused at the scene unfolding in front of him. Natsu was consoling a sobbing Lucy while Erza was rubbing her back doing her best to calm her friend down. Lucy's Lphone was on the table. Natsu's green eyes meet his dark blue ones, he just shook his head.

"Guys what happened? Why is Lucy crying? Whose ass do I need to go kick?" Gray said through a clenched jaw.

Piper traded seats with Erza at soothing the petite blonde. Erza took Gray outside the car so not to upset Lucy any further. "Gray, before I tell you what happened you have to promise me what Natsu and I promised Lucy before she told us, ok. You have to promise not to do anything stupid that will put yourself or anyone else in the guild in danger. Do you promise?" Erza pleaded with Gray.

"I'm gonna kick his scaly ass…" Gray gritted. Erza grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him and made him look her in the eyes, "Promise me Gray, this is Lucy were talking about. She knew the risked dating a dragon slayer. She went through it with Natsu before we knew he was gay."

"Fine I promise I won't kick Erik's ass when I get back to Magnolia. Does this mean he found his mate or something?" Gray asked with an angry edge in his voice.

"I don't know. She doesn't know. He's not even in Magnolia right now. I agree he took the coward's way out and did it over the phone but Lucy knows that if she isn't a dragon slayers mate and they find it this could happen. You know I want to kick his ass just as much as you but we need to be there for Lucy, ok." Erza returned the same angry edge.

Their anger subsided when they heard a familiar giggle coming from the car behind them. They returned to the car behind them to see that Flick had helped the celestial wizard with her heartache by playing with her. Piper smiled at the two when they came back in. "Flick decided he wanted to help make Lucy feel better. So he is going to hang out with her for a little bit I guess." Piper giggled as the snake was wrapping itself up in golden locks and used his little tongue to tickle her cheek.

The next morning the train pulled into Magnolia. Piper had finally made it to Magnolia. She disembarked from the train and her Papa and Lucas were waiting for her. She practically jumped into Oscar's arms. She was wound up in both Oscar and Lucas hugs. The emotions she had from 2 weeks ago, all came back and the reason she was here in Magnolia. She started crying again for the first time since she left West Nitespring. "Oh no no mi dulce niña. You are safe know and we all know that Sam and the Foxes will find who did this to you." Oscar whispered in her ear and he held her as she cried.

Team Natsu had let the family have their reunion, before Lucy called out, "Piper when you get settled come to the guild hall and meet the rest of the guild, ok." They waved to the family as they made their way to the Fairy Tail guildhall.

A/N Again I apologize for my terrible Spanish and poor use in sentences. I feel that if I don't use the pieces of Spanish in some of Piper's language I wouldn't give the character justice. I know this is a short chapter as well. BUT…Piper made it to Magnolia YAY!

Thank You Desna for help with Flick. :)

Some translations:

Ombra della morte por favor no uccidermi: Shadow of death please don't kill me

El loco piensa que soy un mago seith, un mago seith de todos los magos uno de esos malvados. Dioses me ayudan: This crazy man thinks I'm a seith mage. A seith mage of all mages. One of those wicked ones. Gods help me.

Oh no no mi dulce niña: Oh no no my sweet baby girl


	4. Fox on a Trail

Fox on the Trail

 _"_ _An old fox understands the trap" Anonymous_

Sam returned to Pipers apartment after he was sure that she was safely onboard the airship to Fiore. He wanted to look over her apartment without her being there. He moved past the police crime tape. Once he shut the door behind him, he let his true for take over him. He grew slightly taller, his hair grew out to shoulder length of auburn waves, his fox ears appeared on his head instead of his human ones, his canines were more pronounced, his hazel eyes were shaped more like a fox's, his nails were longer, and his auburn fox tail with a white tip appeared. His senses were heightened now as he looked around the apartment again with better senses. He was able to pick up a scent around the broken glass. He looked at the destroyed terrariums and noticed that someone had cut himself or herself while breaking the glass. He could smell the magic that was used to disarm the security alarm. Tommy will be happy it wasn't a hacker. Damn shadow mage done something to it. He smelled a shadow mage and a seith mage as well as a normal guy in here. Must have been the one that was talking to Piper. Fucking drug lords, he knew she has told them no and he even reiterated it to them that she was off limits. Did they have a new boss in town? Gods he hope not. That's just gonna cause more headache and more bodies.

He transformed back to his normal human mage self. His human ears returned, short-cropped auburn hair. All his features back to looking like an everyday human. One person only knew what he truly was, and she was not in Sin any longer. She had moved on to another guild. He walked back to the guild from Piper's trashed apartment. He took note of the woman that was watching the place from the coffee shop a block down from the place. He took out his Lphone and sent a text to the heads of his guild divisions, The Eyes and Ears, The Fangs and the Tails. Shit was about to go down and he needed to coordinate a hit on the drug rings in West Nitespring. No one goes after his family and gets away with it. Besides Riko and Georgi were still 2 days out from returning, he needed to have his ducks in a row because those two would burn the city down looking for these scumbags.

Sam was trying to figure out how he was going to handle a shadow mage and a seith mage. He knew there was quite a few in West Nitespring that immigrated from Bosco a few years back when they outlawed the magic, but a lot of them are good decent mages. Nick had an aunt who was one he knew they weren't all bad. The sway of dark power can be powerful and turn anyone or the threat to someone you love will make a person do things they normally wouldn't. The Foxes didn't have any seith mages join or even inquire. He wouldn't have turned them away based on one country's laws. He liked to make judgements based on the individual.

Sam reached the courtyard of the guildhall, even though it was more of a short skyscraper. Beautifully built glass building that reached for the sky amidst the other glass giants on the edge of downtown West Nitespring. He walked into the doors to be greeted by his family that moved around in the building. He loved his guild. They were his family. He established this guild when the city started to have an industrial boom about 20 years ago. It was just an all mage guild at the time but after the Alverez war things changed not just in Fiore but in the world.

Sin was lucky enough to never have to have contended with Acnologia or the dragon slayers. Most people in Sin thought the slayers were more myth than real. It had its own issues with Pergrande trying to invade and take over the small peninsula country. Sin's Army, Navy and Rune Knights were spread thin during that time. They sent troops to Fiore but had to keep some back to push back Pergrande from their invasion attempt. This is caused mage guilds to collapse or have to combine. The Great Tribune came up with the idea to allow non-mages to enter mage guilds at the behest of the guild masters. Sam jumped at the chance to allow mundane humans into the guild. It bolstered his numbers and allowed him more access into the seedier places in West Nitespring.

Sam entered his spacious office, went to his modern styled desk, and took his seat. His assistant, Mariana Martin, came in with the heads of his division, Walker Gomez, Felix Garcia, and Zosia Kolwalski.

"Hey boss man." Walker greeted Sam with a hand shake. "Must be bad if you brought Zosia up here outta the gutters. I was beginning to forget how fine she looked." He said as he looked over at the tall lithe greenette.

"Shut it Walker, I've seen you plenty of times in those 'gutters' getting you wood polished." Zosia laughed. "Not my fault you couldn't find me." She winked at the big bald man.

"Would you two like us all to leave so you can fuck on the couch or maybe the boss's desk?" Felix said with a sly grin.

At the same time Walker and Zosia said, "Only if the boss says we can."

"Alright that's enough, you can get your freak on after this meeting and NOT in my office." Sam said with a laugh in his voice. He cleared his throat and got serious. "And you're right Gomez, shit got real. You remember Oscar and Georgia's youngest kid Piper?"

"Yeah…what about her? Doesn't she have her nose buried in books at the University? I see her jogging there every morning…" Walker started with a confused looked on his face. He led the Fangs. They were the main division of the guild. They did most of the jobs for the guild and backed up the law enforcement in the city for the mages. His division was meant to be seen. If Sam wanted to send a message to the Dark mage guilds trying to break the laws he sent in the Fangs to remind them that they couldn't do what the hell they wanted. There were laws to abide by. The Fangs were a rowdy bunch too. Walker himself was an explosion mage. He was a large man with bulky muscles. He kept his head shaved to show off his tattoos of a fox chasing its prey. He had many tattoos on him of various things. He was from Sin grew up in the streets until Sam came along and took him in and showed him how to harness his power. Now he does the same thing for the younger wild people in the guild.

Zosia spoke up, "No meathead. Don't you ever read you text messages. Of course not that requires you to be able to read." She laughed. "Piper Hatchet was attacked last night by an unknown group. Most likely a drug cartel to get her to come work for them to make a designer drug. She escaped but they trashed her apartment and killed all her pet snakes except one egg which she took with her. She is currently now an official guild member as our poisons expert and will take up that role when she returns from Magnolia, Fiore. She is under protective custody of Nick Sinclair and Tomacenia Warren until they reach Magnolia. Geez, Gomez get with the program." She winked at the bald man with her pale blue eyes.

"Bah it's your job to know what's going on before anyone anyway is it not beautiful? You are head of the Eyes and Ears." Walker pushed back with a wolfish grin.

"Oh course it is who do you think sent the text message? Santa Claus? I know lots about you that would make you blush like you like to bathe with a ru…" Zosia was interrupted when Walker lunged for her but her missed her when she teleported to where he was sitting, "rubber ducky. Quack quack big man. You're so adorable when you play in the tub he he."

"Sam, are you going to make them stop or just wait until they are naked?" Felix just rolled his eyes as he looked over at the two mages. He was much more subdued than his two counterparts he was head of the Fox Tails. They were the elite mages of the guild. This is the only division that was mage only because they dealt with the dark mage guilds or magic problems strictly plus they protected the people that were in high security areas like Tommy and Piper. Tommy was a mage and could hold her own in a fight with her tech magic but she had knowledge about the guild that would be a security breach if someone was able to subdue her.

"Come on Felix you can join us if you want too. Walker isn't shy are you baldy?" Zosia sniggered.

Sam just laughed and shooked his head. He loved when these three got together but hated it because they were so distracting when they didn't need to be focused. "Zosia is correct as always about what is happening with Piper, but I went to her apartment and was able to find a small amount of blood at the scene. Plus there was a woman at the café watching the place. I made sure she seen me. Zosia, make sure you get this out to the Eyes and Ears. Walker make sure the Fangs are ready to strike. Also Walker be prepared for Georgi and Riko when they come back to be in a really pleasant mood. Try to keep them from going nuts and stirring up the dark guild. And one more thing while I was there, I detected the magic of a shadow mage and a seith mage. Just those two types working together with a drug ring is going to be a bad day for everyone. Now if you guys need to go work off so energy before you get started be my guest, but not in here. I don't want it to smell like you three." Sam finished with a slight snicker as Felix rolled his eyes and left the office. Zosia just grabbed Walker and disappeared with the man to only they knew where.

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"Mamá, ¿sientes a esos magos seith allí?" Riko asked his mother, Georgia, as they sat on the upper deck of the airship. He hand getting a itching feeling to it as he started to tap his leg and flex his right hand. Seith mages made him twitchy.

"Sí y no harás nada." Hissed Gerogia. "One is just an old woman like me and the other looks no older than your sister. The third one isn't even a seith. Leave them alone Riko. Not every seith is a bad one. Riko just relax we are almost home and you can go see Piper and her little babies."

"Mama you are not an old woman. You are a beautiful woman in her late forties. That woman is old enough to be my abuela." Riko spat back.

"Are you talking back to your mother? Because you still aren't not too old for me to bend over my knee…" Georgia warned.

"No no mama…I was just saying how beautiful you are." Riko backtracked his word and placed a kiss on Georgia's cheek.

They had been in Midi for about a month tracking down a sand wyvern that was trying to make a nest near a little village. It was creating havoc for the villagers. Now they were on their way back to West Nitespring for a rest. Georgia didn't go on many mission anymore but Riko asked her to go on this one. He had told her Oscar, ex-husband and his father, wanted to talk to him, but he wasn't ready to yet. Georgia knew her son had a lot of issues because he was abducted when he was a teen by a seith mage and taken to Pergrande. The seith mage made him think he was in love with him and they ran away. Riko had figured it out the night the mage let one of the Pergrande guard have sex with him. The seith mage wasn't that powerful to keep the soul possession up long enough while out of the room. Riko had broken out of the spell and pulled one of his guns from requip and put a bullet in the guard's head and then more than a few in the seith mage. He opened up to her a few years ago while they did a simple hunting trip for some venison for his cabin. They both had cried. She finally felt like she had her son back after he opened up to her what terrible things had happened to him. She was grateful at the time they never made it to Sky Reach. She just wished he didn't have this personal vendetta against every seith out there. Those three over certainly didn't hold any ill-will toward him. They looked a little scared themselves. Like they were running from something, everyone was running from something. Georgia looked at her son and smoothed his purple low cut mohawk and drew him in for a hug.

Sylvia Sinclair looked out over the airship's deck as Midi faded away to ocean. Her silver locks caught by the wind. She pulled them from her face and her locks behind her ears. She took a big breath a let it out. She got her two granddaughters out of Bosco, but not without its tolls. Lex had been threatened by the Steel Council killed if her other granddaughter didn't do as she was told. Cat was a seith mage. She was 'recruited' by Grendace personally because her piece of shit father, Strauss, made a deal with Grendace. He told him that she was a seith mage and he had possessed her with a shade as well. She would be a perfect killing machine. She would slowly lose her humanity because of the shade. Sylvia shuddered at the sight of that red and black shield on Cat's right shoulder. She knew the horrors she endured her wandering souls told her what she did. To get her granddaughter back, Sylvia put a contract on herself under an alias. When Cat can calling she immediately recognized her own grandmother. Lex was there when Cat showed up. They left Bosco immediately for Sin. Along the way Sylvia and Lex were able to rid cat of the shade that was possessing Cat. It was a fight. They almost lost her, but Cat was a fighter.

"Grammie, stop staring at it. You know staring at it won't make it go away." Cat said sadly to her grandmother. She pulled her wrapped up around her shoulders to hide her tattoo and walked over to her grandmother and hugged her. "It's not your fault, Grammie. You had to protect yourself and me from that law. Plus it didn't help that daddy made a deal with that dick weed."

"Grammie have some tea. It will calm you down. We are almost to Sin. We will be able to start over with Aunt Opal and Uncle Frank." Lex offered.

"This wasn't supposed to have happened to you girls…" Sylvia started.

"Grammie, daddy wasn't supposed to destroy out clan, Seith magic wasn't supposed to be outlawed in Bosco, I wasn't supposed to be a blood hunter. You know things happen for a reason." Cat smiled. "If not for White Seas and the Pradesh's Lex and I wouldn't have survived to adulthood if they hadn't have found us after daddy destroyed the village. Lex is right we are gonna start over in West Nitespring with Aunt Opal and Uncle Frank. I heard that Nick is in a guild there. Maybe they take seith mages and I can be a guild mage again like Lex was."

"Well haven't you mature my little sassy kitty cat." Sylvia said with a smile.

Cat returned with a wink, "Sassy classy and a little smart assy, Grammie." They all three laughed at that.

Two days later the airship landed in West Nitespring. There was the usual hustle and bustle of unloading and loading of the airship for the next stop. People disembarking and embarking the airship families reuniting with those returning and those saying their goodbyes to those leaving. Zosia met the Hatchets at the airship. "Welcome back you too. Ready to go?"

"Sam must have something important if you're here." Georgia deduced.

"What can't a girl come meet an old friend and her son?" teased with a hand on her hip.

"Sure…but not you Zosia. You have a reason for everything. Let's go." They trio teleported to the Red Fox guild.

Sam was there as well as Felix and Walker. They told the mother and son what had happened to Piper and where she was and that she was safe. They also told them that they had found some things that had happened in the drug rings. There was some in-fighting and one guild absorbed all the rings into one. The 12 Crows, they want Piper bad. That's why they did what they did to her place thinking they would scare her into working for her.

"Sam you know what you call a flock of crows don't you?" Georgia asked with a worried tone.

"A murder Georgie. That's why Piper is staying with Oscar. They are half a world away. Oscar says there is a powerful legal guild based in Magnolia as well. So I need your head here in West Nitespring. I don't want you two going off halfcocked. Check in everyday with Walker, got it?"

"Yes sir." They said in unison.

Two weeks later

"Cat come on I wanna go to the beach." Lex pleaded with Cat.

"Lex I think we've been here long enough we should go look into Nick's guild that Aunt Opal and Uncle Frank told us about, The Red Foxes. I wanna see if they are accepting new mages. They said it's about a 20 minute walk from here. Maybe Nick is back from whatever mission he went on." Cat said with hopefulness in her voice. She was grateful not to be a Blood hunter anymore. She hated it. She hated the things that she did and that shade made her do. She wanted to put that all behind her. She hoped that the Steel Council wouldn't send anyone after her or her family. They knew it was a risk.

"Cat you know you don't have to do this. I can work as a guild mage on my own so you don't have to risk being found out…" Lex offered.

"Quit it, Red I'm not letting my sister work and I sit and home on my damn thumbs. I want to help out around the house and maybe even get a place of my own." Cat told her sister as they walked into the courtyard of the glass building. She looked up at the multi-storied glass building, took a deep breath and entered the building.

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Strauss sat in his new office of his new guild. It wasn't a terrible looking office but it wasn't his office he had in his old guild he created, HIS Shadow Stalkers. He loved that guild he created. He made it a lynch pin for all things on the black market. Hell, he was even doing business with Nightmare. That was feather in his cap. His dark merchant guild obtained and traded people animals, items and information. He didn't care what his clients wanted his merchandise for; he just wanted their jewel. Now here he sat in fucking Sin because his right hand man or he should say woman, Astrid Dresdan, betrayed him. She almost killed him but he escaped through his shadows.

Now here he sits with the 12 dark guilds that ran the underbelly of West Nightsprings nefarious trades including the drug rings that made money off the non-magical humans. He never thought about this piece of the market. He made it a bloody takeover of all the guilds to bring them under his heel. Now they are one guild, the 12 Crows. He had mages that he never had at his fingertips before, seith mages. Twenty seith mages under his control. Fuck his daughter, Cat, whom he tried to bring under control with a shade. He had 20 willing seiths. He laughed to himself. He lacked an alchemist. They told him about one talented Piper Hatchet, biochemist, toxicologist, loved snakes. She taught at the university. Drug lords that he had murdered had tried to sway her to join them, but he was different. He didn't take no for an answer. He ordered Bronx to destroy her apartment if she denied his offer. Now she was in Magnolia with her father, he was told. He would wait. He had patience. He waited 22 years for Cat, he'd wait for Piper.

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Astrid Dresdan entered West Nitespring, welcome home she thought to herself. She wasn't sure how long it had been since the last time it had been since she had been home. She knew that the town she grew up in was this sprawling metropolis of glass steel and commerce. Astrid could still feel that he was still here. She would never forget how he felt to her. It felt like home. She kept to the shadows, kept her dark billowy cloak around her, and up over her head to mask most of her face. She couldn't risk being recognized. She made her way to where her old apartment used to be located. She hoped that it was still there looking at all the changes to West Nitespring.

 **A/N** Thanks for sticking with me. For those that read Soul Shatter you will remember some of the characters from it. I have made some changes. Ok, a lot. Cat and Lex are back. I've changed them a bit. Cat is still a seith mage that was possessed by a shade and she is still an ex-Bloodhunter. She hated ever second of it. Sylvia is NOT dead and was able to remove the shade. Straus Dresdan isn't dead nope. Hard to kill an asshole like that. Astrid Dresdan she's getting more of her story fleshed out now that she's back home. Don't worry Shadow Stalkers isn't dead just being reorganized.

I want to thank Desna for helping me out with Flick Piper's little snake. Not sure if I gave you a shout out. Thanks so much for helping me and letting me borrow your wonderful Pradesh Family.

My terrible translations:

Mamá, ¿sientes a esos magos seith allí?: Mom, do you feel those seith mages over there?

Sí y no harás nada : Yes and you will do nothing


	5. Fox in the Fairy Coop

Fox in the Fairy Coop

 _"He who has to do with foxes must look after his hen roost" – German Proverb_

Piper woke up at her regular time of 0600. She got out of her bed brushed her teeth braided her hair and then she realized she had not running gear. It was all destroyed. She needed to go shopping. She threw on the one t-shirt she had from home, an oversized black tee with two unicorns humping that said "Fucking Magical" and her only pair of jeans she now own with her flip-flops. No way she could run in this. She went down stairs of her father's modest two-story brownstone. She did catch the hint of coffee wafting through the air. She saw her father and Lucas in the kitchen. Lucas at the island in the kitchen and her Papa at the kitchen table reading the morning paper like he always did.

She walked over to her father and bent down and kissed her father on the top of his head, "Morning Papa" She said with a smile, then turn and walked over to Lucas. She placed a chaste kiss to Lucas's cheek, "Morning Lucas." Smiled at the man as he handed her a coffee mug with steaming coffee like she like it, black.

"Good morning Piper. What are your plans for the day? And do you have your little friend with your yet?" Lucas asked Piper with a big smile.

"Uh…no he's being a sleeping head today. I think I'm going leave him here today anyway I need to go buy some clothes since I don't' have anything besides what I wore here and these. I'll have to go later today because I need to log into the web and do my classes via Grype. What's is your Wifi password?" Piper asked while looking at her L-Tablet

"Piper, darling, we don't have WiFi…" Lucas said with an embarrassed blush on his cheek.

"Baby girl we don't use the electronics like yourself or your brother. We like living the simpler life before the technology." Oscar explained without putting his paper down.

Piper sighed, "I understand Papa, but I need to work…Where can I get WiFi and teach my classes?"

"Since you are technically a guilded mage you could go down to the mage guild here in Fairy Tail and see if you could use theirs…" Lucas offered. "Oh and before you go there, Papa and I made your these so that you could have some protection while you're there." He said as he pulled out a couple velvet ring boxes. "They are magical rings that have protection magic infused in them. This one, the sapphire, has Papa's reflector magic imbued in it. It will keep you safe as if he were there deflecting magic from you. This one, the diamond, is a protection from elements ring. Elemental magic will not harm you either." Lucas told her as he opened each box. He was a gem mage and loved crafting jewelry like this. Now that he had a daughter, he wanted to spoil her and adorned her with jewelry. He had no children other than Oscar's. He was elated when he found out that Piper was so accepting of him. He knew she wasn't a mage but that made his jewelry all the more special. He could imbue protection magic in his jewelry for her. He had a huge smile on her at her reaction to the rings.

"Oh Lucas! They are beautiful! You shouldn't have done this." Piper held a hand over her mouth. The rings were beautifully made. The gems weren't too big or gaudy. They were perfectly proportioned with the platinum ring settings.

"I told you Lucas. She would love them. She loves the simpler designs." Oscar chuckled. He had gotten up from his paper and coffee and hugged his husband as his daughter gushed over the beauty of the rings. Most women did. Lucas had made a name for himself in Fiore in the jewelry business: Pasquale Jewelers.

Piper hugged both men in the biggest bear hug she could muster. She didn't feel so unprotected now. She felt as if she had some kind of protection from magic now. She couldn't wield magic, didn't have a shred of magic in her, but now, now she was protected from it. Well, some of it anyway.

She gave more hugs and kisses to her two Papas, gathered up her things and headed out the door toward the guildhall. According to Papa, Fairy Tail was a nice walk from the market district. It was early still so there wasn't anyone on the streets as she walked until she was passed by a tall man jogging with a shaggy blue mohawk. She watched as he ran by, nice tanned skin tattoo on his right side of howling wolves on his shoulder, nice ass in those tight jogging shorts. She shook her head and smiled to herself. She so needed to get her jogging gear purchased if that was just a sample of what Magnolia had jogging around here.

Piper reached the guild hall of Fairy Tail. It was not like the Red Foxes. It was made of stone and multi-tiered. It was beautiful. It matched Magnolia, quaint small town feel yet growing. West Nitespring was enormous with skyscrapers, subways, rail cars, buses, taxis, you name it for transportation, but here in magnolia the people still could walk literally through the streets. Not many cars, or other more modern transportation. She liked the feel of it. She could see why Papa didn't want to have WiFi. She was hoping that the guild had WiFi or she was screwed and would have to return to Sin.

She opened the doors to the guild hall, it was quiet and peaceful. There were open table out in the middle of the main hall, booths lining the walls opposite the bar. Few people passed out at a couple of table. The bar was long and curled around and terminated into a wall at one end. It was an ornate beautiful bar. Piper noticed a platinum buxom blonde tending the bar. They had a stage with a small dance area in front of it. She noticed there was a second level to the main hall but that's all she could see from where she was standing. She entered further into the guild, the blonde at the bar waved at her with a smile that was warm and welcoming. Piper waved back and walked toward the woman.

"Hi there. You are definitely new here. My name is Mirajane. Welcome to Fairy Tail, what can I get you?" Mira smiled and made Piper feel warm and welcomed as she went about doing an inventory of the bar.

"Uh…yeah…I definitely am. I was wanting to know if I could speak with the Guild master?" Piper asked doing exactly as Oscar had instructed her to do since she was an actual guilded mage according to the laws of Fiore whether she had magic or not.

"Oh he's not in yet. We're you wanting to post a job? I can help you with that. Your accent is lovely by the way. Where are you from?" Her soothing voice and smile infectious.

Piper returned her smile "No…uh I don't need a job posted…I need…um…I…well shit…here look at my arm…does this help? Plus I need to know if you have WiFi I can access because I have a class I need to teach at my university in Sin." Piper started to stumbled but just like ripping off a band aid shoved her forearm out with the black fox guild emblem on it. She hated not being able to articulate what she needed but navigating mage guilds was way out of her wheelhouse.

MiraJane just smiled and nodded her head, "Yes, I know exactly what you want. Laxus will be in in a few hours but I can give you the WiFi password since you are a fellow mage and are in need since it relates to your job. What are you doing in Magnolia? If you don't mind me asking?"

"Uh…hiding from a drug ring boss…" Piper said with a slight embarrassment in her voice. She knew she would be figured out as a non-mage with that admission. No mage would run from a drug ring.

"Oh, so your guild sent you here for protection then?" Mira just smile as she kept wiping down the bar.

"Yeah til things cool down. They said."

"Makes since. Would you like something to drink? Coffee, tea?" Mira offered.

"Can I get a cup of coffee? And where can I set up where I'm not interfering with your daily guild activities?" Piper asked. She was feeling the tendrils of anxiety pull away the more she talked to the blonde woman. Her mannerisms were so calming. She was not judgmental of her being half a world away from Sin.

"Sure, follow me I'll take you up to the second floor its quieter up there and only of S-ranked mages are up there but they don't start to filter in til after 10 but they don't normally stay long unless they are on a break. I think the Thunder Legion is on break at the moment but I don't think they will bother you." Mira talked as she led Piper up the stairs.

The upper level was a smaller version of the lower level. Piper took up shop at the corner booth. It was out of the way and had an outlet to plug into. She started powering up her lap top, tablet and pulled out her books and papers and prepared for the day. The university had already sent out emails to all of her students that her classes would be via Grype due to family crisis in Fiore until further notice. She had scheduled herself a break at 12 for lunch. She was hoping to meet with the guild master at that time as well. Mira said she would leave a note on his desk about it. She popped in her earbuds and went to work.

Freed was the first of the Thunder Legion to arrive at the Guild as ususal. He was always punctual. He ran his life like clockwork almost like an obsessive compulsion, but that was because of his upbringing. His father was Fioiran nobility and his life was run as such. He walked into the guild, greeted Mira, and ordered everyone's usual breakfast. Pancakes and fruit with strong coffee for Bixlow; yogurt and berries with orange juice; poached eggs and yogurt with tea for himself and double helpings of eggs bacon sausage and pancakes for Laxus with the same strong coffee as Bix.

"How are you doing today Mira?" Freed asked after placing his large order.

"Oh just fine Freed. How are you doing? How was your date last night with Rufus?" Mira smiled.

"Oh it was fine. I think we are going to go out again." Freed mused with a small smile.

"Freed, Freed, Freed" Chanted Bixlow's babies as they floated in announcing the seith mage's arrival. "Hey my man. How's it going you get lucky last night…oomph" Bix groaned as Freed elbowed the man in the gut. His babies cackling around "lucky lucky lucky"

"Bix shut them up. My love life does not need to be broadcasted over the guild hall." Freed warned.

"Okay man. Come on babies let go find our tables before we get into more trouble because someone didn't get laid." Bix said as he cackled up the stairs.

"Oh Freed I almost forgot…I put a mage upstairs to work. She needs to see Laxus first but she's a visiting from Sin. She was sent here by her guild for protection from a drug ring. But she needed to teach classes via the web so she's up there working. I just wanted to let you know before you got up there." Mira told him

"Oh ok…well I better go run inference because Bix will likely bother her." Freed sighed as he went up to the second level. He knew if it was a halfway decent looking woman Bix was gonna be hitting on her. Hell if it was a halfway decent looking man he'd would have been over him. Bix being a Boscan, he didn't care either way. As he told Freed when Freed finally told him he himself preferred men, 'Pleasure's pleasure, man'.

When Freed reached the landing of the second floor, he was confused by what he saw. He didn't see what he had envisioned, Bix hitting on the woman in the corner booth. No what he saw was Bix sitting in a chair backwards at their usually table playing with his babies. Freed did notice that Bix kept looking the purple haired woman's way with a confused look on his face. "What's wrong Casanova? Is that the one that gets away?" Freed chuckled at his perplexed looking friend.

"I don't know man. That woman is all kinds of gorgeous. I tried talking to her but she just ignored me and kept talking to her laptop about chemicals and poisons. I mean I've read shit about poison mages and Cobra could probably get school by the shit she's saying…even my babies couldn't get her attention." Bix said with a little defeat in his voice.

"Mira said there was a woman up here that was teaching university classes up here. That's probably what's she's doing, teaching. And you were being rude and interrupting her. She may be using an app that the university using from online learning. I believe it called Grype. I'm surprised you don't know about it since your brother, Kaleb, assisted in creating it so that those who couldn't move to Bosco or Minstrel or apparently Sin could attend University from home." Freed chuckled at Bix. Freed wasn't sure if he ever seen anyone turn the man away.

Piper was finishing her morning classes when she heard what sounded like thunder boom outside the guild. Her electronic flickered a little but nothing else. She hoped that it wasn't going to rain. She shut down her applications. She looked at the papers she had strewn across the table. It was almost noon; she was hungry and had a bone to pick with a knight and his odd floating tikis. Piper slide out of the booth and stretched. She felt stiff sitting there all morning. A few spots in her spine made a delicious popping sound when she did that. She looked around. She saw the big knight. He had some friends with him that hadn't bothered her. A lovely green haired man with a slim build, he was alluring. The brunette that was sitting with the in the low cut top skirt and fan, smacked the knight for something he said as he laughed and his tongue lolled out. That's when Piper seen his guild mark, of all places, on his fricking tongue. These Fiorians are strange.

As Piper got closer those little tikis started to gather around her chanting, "Pretty Pretty Pretty". She swatted at them like they were flies. She had never experienced anything like them before. She had no idea what kind of magic it was. She reached the table with her escorts, "Excuse me but may I have a word with you Sir Knight about what you were trying to talk to me about earlier."

"Oh yeah, sweetheart." Bix Stood up and offered a seat to her.

"I wanted to let you know I was not trying to ignore you but I was in the middle of a lecture regarding the application of the theory of biochemistry into the real world without the help of a poison mage. So was there a question that you need to ask me?" Piper said making sure to sound as dry and boring as possible and the way the confusion crept in on the portion of the knight's face that she could see it appeared to be working. She stayed standing.

"Oh so you're an alchemist then. Makes sense now. I've been sitting here wondering how the hell a non-mage got into a mage guild. I saw your guild emblem on your forearm but the only mage that I can sense is the two rings that you have on you. Therefore, you teach alchemy in a nutshell that's pretty awesome. I got a buddy that's gonna love you." Bix said with a hint of laughter in his voice. He wasn't an idiot, he just liked to play one on lacrima TV sometimes. He was buddies with Freed and his dad was an ambassador. He loved messing with women who used their intelligence as a blanket to keep men away.

Piper blushed but quickly changed tactics, "¿Así que estabas jugando a un idiota?"

Bix replied instantly even though his Sinese was rusty, "Sí, juego un gran bufón." His tongue lolled out again. His little tikis floated around chanting "bufón, bufón, bufón".

Piper started laughing. This man was the first man she met who could spare with her on an intellectual level and speak her own language and then have it parrot him with his little dolls. She held out her hand and Bix took it shaking it as they both laughed. Piper had told them the tale of what had happened to her in Sin. Mira had brought them lunch. While they ate Piper noticed an enormous blond sauntering over to the table. He looked angry depressed and hungry if you could get all those at the same time.

"What's up Boss man!" Bix greeted the burly man as he grunted back at him. That didn't deter the knight to stop talking, "Boss this is our new friend, Piper. She's an alchemist and amateur snake charmer…" He laughed at the snake charmer comment as Piper tried to take a swipe at him. He easily caught her wrist, "Easy there Belladonna, Bossman is still eatin and I don't want zapped and I don't' think you do either."

Laxus had finished eating and lowered his stormy gray and blue eyes on Piper. This made her stop. She knew he was sizing her up. She had seen Sam do it a few times at the Foxes. "Mira said you need to use our WiFi to teach at your university because your guild sent you here for protective custody. Your guild hasn't contacted me to protect you yet here you are in my guild hall. You smell like a mage but the only magic you emit are those two rings. You have a guild emblem on your forearm. Bix says you're an alchemist. Would you like to fill in the blanks for me and just so you know my nose will know if you lie." Laxus warned with a sneer.

Piper told Laxus everything. How she wasn't a mage, but her parent were, her apartment being destroyed, her babies killed, a drug ring after her. She told him she wasn't sent here for Fairy Tail to protect but her father Oscar and Lucas to protect. She was just following the laws of Fiore by presenting herself to the guild as a visiting guilded mage even though she wasn't really mage. She explained that in Sin mages and non-mages could co-exist in guilds. She gave Laxus the contact information of the Red Foxes if he wanted to verify her and the information that she gave him. He said not so nicely that he would, and she was welcome to use the WiFi for her job purposes since she was stranded here for Gods only knew how long.

After Piper had her luncheon meeting with the charming Mr. Dreyer she went back to work with her students. She was actually enjoying the online teaching. The afternoon went by quickly. She finished her office hours at four. She started cleaning up her space when Bixlow approached her again. "So Belladonna, how about we get a drink…"

"Uh…as much as I'm flattered Bix…I need to go shopping for clothes. I'm embarrassed to admit it but I came to Magnolia with the clothes on my back and this shirt. So I'm in desperate need of clothes, especially my jogging gear. I haven't jogged in almost 3 weeks. So can I take a rain check?" She implored with an embarrassed look on her face.

"Hey I hear ya. Been there myself. Of course that was years ago when I was 15. I bet Ever would love to go with you and I bet you could get some of the other girls to go with you. Show you around Magnolia." He offered as they walked down the steps.

Piper saw Lucy and Erza at the bar with a couple of other she didn't know. Lucy was still not taking the break up well. Bix frowned and walked up "Cosplayer why the frown? Why aren't you your usual chipper self?"

Piper pulled her new friend's arm, "Uh…on the way to Magnolia…I was on the train with Lucy and her boyfriend, Erik, broke up with her on the phone…she was upset…"

"What Snakeman broke up with Cosplayer, What the Fuck?!" Bix shouted.

Lucy turned around and seen Piper and Bix. She smiled but the smile didn't make it to the brown eyes. "Hey Piper. Glad you could make it to the guild." She said with a puffy red face.

"Lucy I know we just met but come on chica. I've had my heart broke a few times and I need to go shopping. So retail therapy is ordered by the doctor and since I'm the doctor, let's go all of you. I'll learn everyone's name that I know on the way. Now Lucy show me where I can find some sexy lingerie. I have none and going commando is chaffing." Piper laughed and some of the other women snorted.

"Model it for me later Belladonna" Bix called out as the women left. Piper flipping him off as they filed out the door. Bix snorted when he laughed at being flipped off. He met a few Sinese women in the past but he was younger and they were a lot older. Sin was an odd country. They were deeply devoted to their religion, which forbid sex before marriage and valued the virginity of a woman over a man's unlike Bosco that shed that philosophy with laws and its people have flourished. That was years ago though, he had heard now that people still worshipped their God but people were able to have sex with whoever they wished and not repercussion about loss of virginity. They were more open about sex than here in Fiore. Bix had even heard that some Boscan had immigrated there and helped open up the communication for sex legislation in The Great Tribune. It was not Bosco but it was not Fiore. He looked at Piper again as they left the hall, maybe he needed to go to Sin and see the rest of what the country had to offer of one woman looked that good. Good Gods he thought with a shiver. He turned and went back upstairs to see what mischief he could get into before Laxus shocked his ass.

Gray sat at his team's usual table with Natsu. He wasn't paying any attention to flame brain complain about his lackluster love life. They made out once because Natsu wanted to see if his dragon would say anything about Gray. Nothing happened. They both agreed it was like kissing a brother, just eww. So Natsu just sat and whined about it. Gray's interest got piqued when he saw Piper come down the stairs with Bixlow. His thoughts turned dark when he saw how she was smiling at the seith mage, but he also thought that if he had the opportunity that Bix did he would have been all over Piper too. He heard the seith mage say something about model the lingerie later for him and he gritted his teeth. Natsu interrupted his thoughts, "Uh Gray, something going on in that ice cube of a brain because your devil showing man and your clothes are missing."

"Huh…" Gray said with a confused voice. He looked down at himself. His shirt was gone and his right arm and chest was black. His devil slayer tattoo glowed through the blackness on his right arm. "…shit. Sorry man. I don't know what's going on. Where is my shirt?" He looked around.

"Dude, I stopped keeping track of your clothes when we were 10. What's up with your little devil, man. Never seen it come out like that since we put out differences aside. Is there like a demon in the guild that isn't a friend cause Mira and Freed don't need that shit and you know we are cool. Annnnd why are you staring at Bix like you wanna fight him? He didn't do anything he was just trying to help Lucy feel better. Is this about that Erik bullshit? Luce is strong she'll get over beside they went shopping for lingerie. That will make her feel better." Natsu laughed.

Piper had had a great afternoon with her new friend. Lucy and Erza had introduced her to Levy and Cana. She was able to get her clothing somewhat replenished especially her panties and bras. Lucy was feeling better but she seen from time to time that far off stare. They were now at a little café not far from the guild that they all loved to eat at. Erza loved their strawberry cake. Lucy was drinking her strawberry smoothie and Levy was drinking water. Cana though was having wine. Piper joined the brunette with her wine. Piper loved a good red wine.

"Piper you and me are kindred spirits you know. My cards never lie. I bet you are fun at the clubs too. Bixy seems to be taken with you but then again you are the new girl." Cana laughed with a little slurred. She had been sipping from a silver flask all afternoon. "Levy when are you gonna get you some iron dick from our iron dragon slayer? *hiccup*" Cana asked still laughing.

Levy squealed and blushed her entire face neck and down her chest. Piper dropped her wine glass and it shattered on the ground. "Oh my God! I'm sorry about that! What did you say? A dragon slayer? Those are myths that mother tell their children at bedtime. Isn't it? I hope." Piper said with a pale face and trembling hands.

Lucy Erza Levy and Cana, all turned their heads to Piper, and said in unison, "Myths?" They all looked at each other and then back at Piper. Cana being the bolder of the four and well the drunk one, "What rock did you crawl out from under? Fairy Tail has four of em. Doesn't Sin have any of those tasty looking men down that way? Cause I'd love into a dragon slayers pants. Too bad Laxus won't put out to guildies and well, Bixy's brother is just too far away." Cana pouted.

"No we don't have any dragon magic at all in Sin. No dragons no slayers. I grew up thinking that were myths. No one has ever seen either." Piper admitted.

Lucy responded softly, "Its ok Piper all of the dragon slayers were up here in Fiore and Bosco during the Alverez War…" Lucy and the other explained what actually happened in Fiore with the Alverez War while she told them what had happened in Sin with Pergrande trying to invade and do a land grab and take more slaves and fight with the dark mages that were from Alverez.

The evening wore on, the Lucy and the others started heading the opposite way Piper needed to go since their condos were on the other side of town. They said their good byes and thanked Piper for taking them shopping and letting off steam with them. Piper headed over toward the Market district where the brownstones were settled. She shouldered her bags. She tucked what she could inside the larger bags to reduce the amount of bag handles to carry. Still six large bags to handle was a lot. She was glad she made tenure at the university so she could afford all these clothes. She didn't splurge too offend but extenuating circumstances. The lingerie shop was to die for here in Magnolia. Piper was definitely going to come back especially if she ever started dating again. He last boyfriend turned out to be a total dick. He hated her snakes and wanted her to choose between them or him. Hell, they had been engaged. The choice had been easy. Without hesitation she slide the two-karat diamond off her ring finger with a smile, showed him the door and never looked back as he pounded on the door. When he was there an hour later still knocking, Riko had shown him the way out of the building and Piper never seen that asshole again. Of course she bought Riko a new rifle for that but totally worth it.

She was deep in her memories when a voice startled her, "Hey Piper." Came a familiar calm voice. She turned around to see Gray walking towards her. He was in a baggy plain black tee and green cargo pants. His silver cross gleamed in the street lights. She calmed down see him. "Oh hi Gray. Buena noches. What are you doing out this evening. I didn't see you at the guild hall, of course I was working upstairs and your guild's knight was monopolizing most of my time being a jester." She chuckled.

"Oh I didn't know you were upstairs…here let me get some of those bags…care if I walk you home? Bixlow can be jovial especially when there is a pretty lady present. He likes to show off. How many times did you see his tongue?" Gray laughed

"Yeah, your guild master, Laxus, is allowing me to use the Wifi there at the guild hall so that I can broadcast my classes to the university while I'm here in Magnolia. Once I was finished Bix Freed and Evergreen talked to me for a little bit then I went shopping with Lucy Erza Cana and Levy. Oh did you know dragon slayers are real? Of course you did. Oh my god I drank too much wine and now have diarrhea of the mouth…I'm sorry…" Piper giggled and blushed. She felt comfortable around Gray or it was just the wine, maybe, but she felt comfortable around him on the airship and the train. He was just easy to be around. She could tell he guarded his emotions, but most people did around strangers. She heard how he reacted to Erza telling him about Lucy's break-up. Erza and Lucy told her while shopping he was like the magic he wield: cool, calm and collected. Piper found him easy to talk to be around and on her eyes. God, she had too much wine.

"So how long are you going to be in Magnolia? Sounds like you don't really know…" Gray asked. He knew he liked talk to Piper. Her voice intrigued him, especially with her Sinese accent and she spoke a little bit of it. It sent chills down his spine in a good way. She was smart but didn't throw it in his face. He didn't have the opportunity to go to university, but Piper didn't seem to care. Her yellow citrine eyes were captivating. They sparkled like little suns when the lights hit them just right. Her purple hair looked silky. His fingers itched to touch it.

"…not sure. Oh this is me. Thanks for walking me home and helping carry my bags. Do you want to come in for some coffee? I'm sure Papa and Lucas are up. It's not too late." Piper smiled as she stepped up the steps to the brownstone.

Gray looked around. He realized Piper was Bixlow's neighbor. He cursed to himself. "Uh…sure if you don't mind…and you dad doesn't care." He stepped into the brownstone after Piper. He looked around the first floor. It was similar to Bix's place if he remembered right. He was there once for a New Year's Eve party with Cana. He was more than a little drunk. He followed those purple locks into an open kitchen with an island that opened into a living room. He saw two men sitting on the couch.

"Papa, Lucas, this is mi amigo Gray Fullbuster. He's from Fairy Tail. He walked me home from the café. I offered him some coffee before he went home." Piper explained to the two men. She kissed both of them.

"Uh…hi…sirs" Gray said uncomfortably as he scratched the back of his head. He heard them laugh and break into Sinese, "Nuestra niña trajo a casa un joven atractivo. Creo que lo estamos poniendo nervioso" the purple haired man said to the brunette.

"Papá, deja de ser grosero. Él es sólo un amigo. Sí, un amigo guapo pero un amigo." Piper hissed at both men on the couch. "Forgive Papa and Lucas they are happy that you helped me home and say thank you for your help."

"Ok…I'll trust you on that. It sounded like you were yelling at them for something. Anyway, how's your little baby snake?" Gray asked changing subjects.

"Oh Flick? He's doing great. I left him at home today because I didn't know how he would be at the guild. Plus I think he's getting ready to shed." Piper told Gray. She talked a little more about Flick. They finished their coffee. Gray said good-bye to Oscar and Lucas. Piper walked him to the door. "So I guess unless you are out on a job…I'll see you at the guild?"

"Yeah, not sure what the team is gonna wanna do where we just got back from Mintrel…" Gray said. Both of them quiet and not sure what to do. They stared at each other slowly getting closer to each other.

"Piper! Can you get Papa another water?" Oscar called out breaking the spell between them.

"Yes Papa! So I'll see you around." Piper smiled.

Gray waved as he stepped off the stoop and headed toward the clubs. He needed to cool off which sounded funny in his head. Gray Fullbuster, ice make mage, ice devil slayer mage, needed to "cool" off. He laughed aloud at that. He had never had a woman get him so worked up and hot under the collar.

 _Oy mate that's because both your soul and mine want 'er._ Said a voice inside Gray's head. Gray felt confused. He looked around and the streets were too crowded but there wasn't anyone "talking" to him.

 _That's because I'm in ya. Ya sot. I'm the demon soul yer daddy gave to ya so ye kin keel all those demons, remember._ The voice said again. "What are you talking about? Dad didn't put a demon soul in me. He gave me the magic to slay demons and devils." Gray thought back to the voice.

A gravelly laugh sounded through his head. _And how did ya think yer daddy learned how to do all that?_ Gray stopped walking when the voice said that. _Tartaros wasn't a guild full of pixies and unicorns. Ya know that first hand. I've been helping ya kill demons and devils. I helped ya with yer hot blonde friend and that demon writing. I was there when you went toe to toe with E.N.D. I've been enjoyin' meself the whole time. I've enjoyed all the women ye've enjoyed. I'm right there with ya on the crazy rain woman. Nope and I'm the soul of a demon. Won't touch that level of creepiness, but purple locks I like that one as much as ye do. So let's go back and bite that ass._

"So this is similar to dragon slayer magic? You gotta feel a pull toward someone for me to want them? Like Natsu?" Gray thought still thinking he was about to have a psychotic break.

 _Look kid, I'm really inside you. I've been here. I just haven't had anything to say until that hot piece of Sinese flesh graced our presence. So yeah I guess it's like dragon slayers. I don't really know. I just know that that woman make me sit up and beg._ _And please don't ever make out with Pinkie again. That was disturbing. This is comin' from me a fucking devil._

Gray decided that he was gonna skip the clubs tonight and head home. The extra voice that showed up for the first time since his dad gave him the power to slay demons kinda killed his mojo. He needed to go clear his head, she he headed home.

Juvia had followed Gray all evening like she normally did. She was raging on the inside like an ocean in a hurricane over her new "love rival". Gray was her love and no one else's. She would be damn if another rival showed up to take her Gray away. Lucy was single again now as well. She had two rivals to keep an eye on. She must keep them away from her Gray.

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A/N I hope those of you who are reading are enjoying this story as much as I am developing it. I wanted to delve a little deeper into the Demon/devil slayer magic that Gray has. To me it's the same yet different than dragon slayer magic. They differ because well yeah it's a demon not a glorious dragon. And well besides a huge Bixlow fan, I'm a secret Gray fan. I really honestly think Juvia has a borderline personality. Fatal attraction anyone whose old enough to remember.

Also I hope I made I clear that in Sin there are no dragons or dragon slayers that's why Piper was so surprised. It's all myth there.

Translations:

Nuestra niña trajo a casa un joven atractivo. Creo que lo estamos poniendo nervioso.: Our girl brought home an attractive young man. I think we're making him nervous.

Papa, deja de ser grosero. Él es sólo un amigo. Sí, un amigo guapo pero un amigo : Dad, stop being rude. He is just a friend. Yes, a handsome friend but a friend.


	6. The Fox and the Snake

The Fox and the Snake

 _The snake that cannot shed its skin perishes. - Friedrich Nietzsche_

It was four in the morning. Erik knew his roommate wouldn't be up for another hour or so. He came slithering in at this hour on purpose. He didn't want to face Bixlow, yet. He knew he fucked up. He knew he broke Tink's heart. He didn't need anyone to tell him that. He heard it. He felt it. He damn near killed him. He took off his white coat and hung it up in the closet. He hung his head and walked up to his room on the second floor. He didn't want to return to Magnolia after he finished his job in Caelum. The closer he got the louder Tink's soul got. Her soul crying made him want to kill himself. He was so stupid to break up with her. His Tink was so beautiful, kind, forgiving, but damn she didn't put up with his shit. That made him love her more. That's what made him break it off with her. They had only dated for three months. His dragon was screaming the 'm' word at him. They had only made out one time. They never had sex. He had too many hang ups about that level of intimacy because of what Brain had down to him while he was with the Oración Seis, the torture he had endured as a child at the Tower of Heaven and let's not forget all the murders he did as a dark mage. He wasn't good enough for the Light of Fairy Tail, his Tink. Erik just sat on the bed miserable, twisted up in his raw emotions. He needed…fuck…he didn't know what he needed.

Erik was sitting there wallowing in his misery when a voice that was not his or Lucy's soul rang through. _Help. Help I'm stuck._ He picked his head up. He knew he heard a tiny plea for help. He looked at the clock it was 0530. Shit, he'd been throwing himself a pity party for an hour and a half. He got up and went down stairs. Bix wasn't up yet. He knew the voice wasn't him or his totems. They kept to the seith mage and if they had problems they communicated directly to Bix. He figured the voice wasn't in this house and that it must be nearby.

Piper awoke to a frantic knocking on the front door. She gathered her robe and went down stairs. She'd been in Magnolia for about three weeks now. She opened her door to find a man standing there with a frantic yet pissed off look on his face. His one indigo eye searching her shocked looking face. He growled and barged passed her and stormed up the stairs. She chased after him yelling at him in Sinese, but the man kept going as if he was on a mission. He found her room and walked right to her room. He turned and snarled at her, "Shut the hell up woman! Your snake is stuck. It's trying to shed but can't."

That stopped Piper in her track and she stopped cursing him in Sinese. She saw flashes of fangs and scales on the mocha color skin. She watched with fear as the man gently reached in her terrarium for Flick. "Be careful…he's a hav…"

"Havati serpent. I know. He told me and he's stuck." The snarl was gone from the man's voice and it was now gentle and had a cooing tone to it.

Piper watched the hands that were maroon claws move with the precision of a surgeon remove the old skin from Flick. She saw the new maroon colored skin emerge with a new shine to them. Once the old skin fell to the floor, Flick curled around the man's arms and stretched his wings, which had gotten larger and Flick had gotten larger. He was about three feet long now. She watched the two nuzzle and the man purred toward Flick. "Uh…buenos dias y gracias…I wasn't sure how long it was going to take him to shed his skin…My name is Piper…"

An indigo eye opened and slid over and looked at the woman who had followed him up here to this room. He could hear her soul. He could hear her gratefulness and her fear. He could hear the quickening of her heart and breathing and her efforts to calm down. He also heard the protectiveness of the havati in her soul. "Who are you? And why did you let him suffer like this for this long? You know this is a havati. Can you not hear him? Wait…You're not a mage. How did you get this creature then?" Erik started to become angry but the soul of the serpent told him _Mama didn't know. She's had me since I was an egg. She has taken good care of me. She loves me. We just can't talk but she's a good human._ This calmed Erik down. "Very well…he says you've taken good care of him and I shouldn't yell at you since you can't speak with him. You wouldn't have known that havati have a propensity to get stuck on their first shed." Erik said calmly as he handed Flick back to Piper.

"Um…no…I've never had a havati. That is true. I found him in a pet shop as an egg. There is no information out there other than myths and legends written second hand from the web. I have a contact that is from the Husan Clan that is getting me the proper information about them, but you seem to know a lot about them are you from that clan…" Piper asked.

"No. Since Flick is fine now I'll be going. Sorry…to barge in on you at this time of the morning." Erik mumbled the last part as he left to return to his home. Leaving Piper confused as to who and what she just met this morning.

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Shadows stirred outside the brownstones that lined the streets in just outside the market district. It was still dark enough in the morning that they were deep enough to allow a lesser shade to pull forth and more to the smaller brownstone. He had one directive from his master and that was to watch the woman inside, nothing else. It knew it could easily take her over and possess her but she didn't radiate any magical abilities so it had no interest in her. He relayed to his shadow brethren where the woman was so that its master would know her location. It would stay in the shadows of this location and watch listen and learn.

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Lucy woke up to snoring. She rolled her eyes and turned her head to see her best friend had yet again made his way into her bed. Happy was curled up at the foot of the bed. She didn't mind the past three weeks have been rough on her since Erik broke up with her. Natsu has been keeping her company, plus his warmth in the bed helps her relax. She didn't live on Strawberry Street anymore. After Magnolia rebuilt most of the single girls from Fairy hills moved to Magnolia Crescent Moon Condominiums. It was about a ten-minute walk from the guildhall and closer to the parks. Lucy loved it because she could walk out to the parks to star gaze.

She sighed heavily and pushed the pink haired dragon slayer over to the other side of the bed. He growled a little but went back to snoring. Lucy knew her best friend was gay, and was happy he finally embraced it. It made their friendship grow stronger. He warned her though when she started dating Erik almost four months ago, he could reject her like he did, and Natsu was right. Erik rejected her without a reason three weeks ago. No reason just 'I can't be with you anymore Tink.' She still hurt, right in the middle of her chest. It ached like a dull pain that nothing seemed to soothe. She went to her kitchen and started making breakfast for both of them.

Wafting scents of bacon had lulled the fire slayer out of hibernation with his trusty blue nasty cat. "Morning Luce! Smells delicious! I didn't wake you coming in last night did I? I hope you don't mind that I crashed here. I know you kinda want the company…" Natsu said with his signature infectious grin.

"Good thing we got up Natsu. Lushy might have eaten it all." Happy snickered. Lucy glared at the blue cat, walked over to the kitchen sink bent down and rummage through her supplies down there and pulled out a large pink bottle of Nair that was half-empty. She kept it there just for the blue cat. She set the bottle down on the kitchen island. Happy squealed and flew away with his paws full of his portion of the food.

"That's what I thought Cat! You like your hair more than you like to insult me." Lucy said with a scary look on her face. Natsu just laughed. He had already learned his lesson about making fun of Lucy. He woke up a while ago bald, no hair anywhere. So he kept his mouth shut, he didn't want Scary Nair Lucy to show up in the middle of the night again while he slept.

"Natsu I think we need to look for a job to do. One that will keep my mind busy. This is break up is still killing me. I hurt. It feels like he just ripped out my heart…" Lucy said suddenly while rubbing her sternum.

Natsu looked at his friend with concern. This was not like Lucy. He has seen her break up with guys. She never acted like this especially three weeks later. "Luce, not that it's any of my business but…uh…how far did you and Erik get…like…I don't know how to talk to you about this…sheesh…umm…sex…did you guys ever have sex?" Natsu finally stammered it out with a red face. He didn't care talking about sex with Gray but Gray was like his brother and well Lucy was like his well sister and he so did not want to know about his sister love life especially those intimate details.

Lucy just laughed. She truly just held her belly and bent over and laughed at how embarrassed Natsu was at talking about sex with her. She knew all about his sexcapades, but now that she thought about it, he never asked about hers. She righted herself and wiped the tears from her eyes and answer with a giggle in her voice, "No Natsu we never made it past a steamy make out session. Why? And why are you so embarrassed about talking about this with me. I've heard you and Gray talk about sex." She started laughing again.

With a red face, "Stop it Luce. I think of you like my sister and I don't want to think of you like that. Anyway, maybe Erik got scared because you are his mate or something and he's not accepting the reality of it yet. I don't know. I'm just guessing here. Igneel didn't really give me an instruction manual on this or anything. And stop teasing me. Just remember I can smell you when you have had sex…" He put out there to return her torment.

That made Lucy stop laughing and turn red herself, "Shit. Forgot about your stupid nose. I guess that makes sense but he hasn't talk to me at all."

"It's Erik we're talking about. Mr. Personality." Natsu grinned. "Let's head to the guild and see if there are any local jobs. If you are hurting like this I don't want to be far from the guild."

"So when did you get so insightful and stuff, Pinkie?" Lucy laughed.

"I have my moments." Nastu laughed back.

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Gray woke up with a splitting headache. He still had the dredges of sleep when he cracked his eyes open. He saw purple tresses lying across his bare chest, felt a warm soft curvy body nestled against his. He started to smile until reality started trumpeting through the doors like a one-man band of his dream-like state. His smiled turned into a frown and he looked around the room he was in he was not in his home. This wasn't the first time this had happened in the past three weeks. He slid quietly out of the strange bed, gathered up his clothes and did the walk of shame toward the guild. He would grab a shower there.

 _Oy mate, drowning your desires in any purple haired woman's thighs isn't gonna slake your thirst for the one WE want._ Gray just grumbled as he dressed while he stumbled through the small apartment. In less than five minutes, he was on his way toward the guild. He was hoping that he beat Natsu to the guild. He didn't feel like dealing with his bullshit about what he smelled like again. _Well if ye'd git off ye duff and go after the one we want ye wouldn't have to deal with that dragon._ The other voice teased. The pulled toward Piper had gotten stronger, Gray couldn't deny that. He was having dreams about her, erotic dreams.

Gray took a deep breath as he got out on the main street that leads to the guild. He was lost in thought when he heard someone yell, "On you left!" and a purple haired jogger buzzed by him then a flying snake followed the jogger. Then he heard Bix yell, "Watch out Icicle!" as he jogged by nearly missing him with his totems flying behind him repeating "Icicle, Icicle, Icicle!"

"What's the hurry?" Gray yelled at him.

"I got a bet that I can beat Belladonna to the guild but you're slowing me down!" Bix called out as he kept running. Gray heard a girly giggle from far up ahead then Bix yelling, "No fair Belladonna! I got slowed down by an icicle!" followed by more giggling.

Gray finally arrived to the guildhall. It was busier than usual this early in the morning. He saw Lucy over at the jobs board, no doubt they would be leaving soon, he would be glad for some distance from the guildhall. Gray looked over and seen Natsu, who had a shit eating grin on his face, as Gray made his way to the shower room. Gray shook his head at Natsu while Natsu nodded his head at him. He knew he was gonna want details of what he smelled. Gods he was such a pervy dragon, as Lucy would say. He was paying too much attention to Natsu that he didn't see Piper as he ran right into her and almost knocked her over. He his arms wrapped around her before she fell backwards. Her shampoo curled up into his nostrils and made his brain check out for a second. Who would have thought the honeysuckle would make him stop cold in his tracks. A muffled voice came with a push of hands on his chest, "Uh…buenos dias Gray and thank you for keeping my ass off the floor but do you mind letting me go so I can breathe?"

Gray's brain registered the muffled nasally voice and let go, "Shit sorry Piper. Just kinda surprise me for a second." He nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.

"No worries, I would talk more but I'm running a bit late. I need to get my lectures started." She started then looked up at the second floor and yelled, "¡Hay un cierto bufón que se hace pasar por un caballero galante que no puede correr una carrera justa para ganar una apuesta tonta!" She looked back at Gray smiled and waved. Gray heard Bix's laugh echo from the second floor. He shook his head and ducked into the showers. He so needed a cold one right now.

Piper reached the second floor and glared briefly at Bix and his totems before she laughed at him. She shook her head and got logged into her classes so she could get the day started. Spring Semester was coming to a close in a few weeks and she was so ready for summer break. It was already 0750 she had ten minutes to get everything up and running. Her neighbor and new jogging partner had delayed her a few minutes with his little flying tikis so he could win their bet to get to the guildhall first. She lowered a glared towards him from her corner booth. She was going to argue with him at lunch over had the bet was null and void since he used his magic to delay her. She was sure he would come up with some excuse because the tall mage had been trying to get her to go out with him since the day she show up at the guild. She managed to somehow turn him down every time but now he had her over a barrel with a bet. A bet he chested on, but a bet he won. She would talk later about it.

Lucy was looking through the job listings and found on that was still in Fiore but up at Mt. Hokabe. It looked like those Vulcans were back creating havoc again. She thought it shouldn't be too long of a job, but long enough to get her mind off of Erik and what natsu had told her. She went back to the table where Natsu was. Erza had showed up for breakfast. She hadn't noticed Gray come in and have a little moment with Piper earlier. "Where's Gray? Did he oversleep again because stay up too late last night?" Lucy asked not to anyone in particular as she sat down handing the job notice to Erza.

"Oh he's here Lucy. Don't worry. He had a great time last night too." Natsu snickered.

"What's that supposed to mean Natsu?" Erza asked without looking up from the notice. "If you are trying to goad him into something…let's not I'm tired myself and not feeling well."

Lucy looked at Erza, "Did you eat some bad food last night? You don't have to go the boys and I can handle the job ourselves." Lucy offered to the paler than usual red head.

"I'll be fine, but thank you Lucy. I think I will sit this one out. I think I'm just gonna go back home and go back to bed." Erza said with a tired tone in her voice. She waved at her friends at the table as she left back to her place she shared with Jellal.

Gray came out of the showers just in time to see Erza leaving the hall. He wish he had brought fresh clothes but beggars and all, at least he had clothes on, for now, damn stripping habit. "Where's Erza going?" He asked nodding his head at the doors.

"Oh she's sick. So she's gonna go lay back down." Natsu updated his buddy then smirked at him, "Anything you want to share with group…about last night…hint hint wink wink…you sly devil you." Natsu teased with a smirking grin.

"No I don't have anything to share you flaming idiot! Lucy did you find a job to go on?" Gray hissed changing the subject.

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Sam stood in the rank smelling basement of a well-maintained mansion in the high-end part of Sin. He had his full armor on a long sword drawn with shield up. A snarl pulled crossed his lips, fangs bared. He could smell through the thick stank of animal waste that this place was used a part of an illegal fitting ring that was attached to the drug rings. He could smell the blood and death mixed in with the waste and rotting food odor. He knew that his guild had enough evidence from down there that there was no need to keep anything down here. He requipped his sword and shield and released from his hand his foxfire to burn the place. He was furious. These illegal fighting rings were unethical and cruel. They fought non-magical and magical creatures. He couldn't count how many of them he and his team had shut down.

As Sam came up to the main floor of the mansion, it was like night and day. The main floor was opulent with marble flooring crystal chandelier hanging, beautiful double staircases curling up to the second floor that look over the open floor plan of the ground floor. The Red Foxes had gathered this information from their inside informants. They moved as soon as they had enough to move in. When they arrived, all they found were just the caretakers of the grounds and the dying or dead animals down stairs. The caretakers were not mages and were taken into custody by the police. Sam walked out of the huge home thinking to himself, My kingdom for a seith mage that isn't crazy. His guild kept track of the seith mages that immigrated to Sin when Bosco banned the magic. They had approximately eighty practicing mages in West Nitespring, but only eleven of them were associated with the dark guilds. None of the other wanted anything to do guilds. They just wanted to live their lives out in peace. Most of those were older adults and had their glory days. His Lphone went off with a text from his recruitment department.

Recruiter: _New mages applied. Refused to identify their magic types unless they talked to guild master._

Sam: _I'll be there in a hour._

Sam hated when mages did that. They usually were cocky young mages that thought they were special because mommy and daddy thought so. So he would spar with them and bring that cockiness down a notch and then get them on the right path to improve their magical powers.

He arrived to the recruitment office. The recruiter handed him the paper work that was left for him. "This was submitted a few weeks ago. Why am I just now hearing about it?"

The recruiter just shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry sir. I was on vacation until today."

"It's fine I'll look over it and contact them." Sam said with a disappointed sigh.

He headed up to his office glancing over the paperwork. Boscan women immigrating to Sin. Nothing unusal there, clan borne interesting. He only had Nick as a clan borne Boscan. He looked at the names again, wait he thought they have the same last name as Nick. He pulled out his phone and texted Nick to meet him in his office now.

Nick met Sam just as he was about to enter his office. They both entered. Sam held his tongue until the door was shut. He walked over to his desk through his files down from the recruiters office and turned and leaned on his desk. He gestured for Nick to take a seat. "So Nicky how's the family? Opal and Frank doing ok?"

Nick walked over to the couch and took a seat. He didn't like the expression on Sam's face. Something was up. He knew he was dealing with a lot with the new guild the 12 Crows and the power vacuum they were creating by offing all the old dark guild masters and other ring leaders. They were systematically taking them out and then either absorbing them or annihilating those that refused. So it was so much as creating a power vacuum but a violent power take over and that required a lot power to do what that new guild was doing. "Uh…Mom and Dad are fine. My aunt and two cousins just got in about three weeks ago from Bosco. They are moving here permanently. Why something wrong, Boss?"

"No nothing's wrong. Did you know your two cousins applied for guild membership a few weeks ago but didn't specify what magic they use? You know I hate that and you know what I hate more?" Sam led on.

"They asked to talk to you? Well if I may…uh…I haven't gotten to talk a lot with Aunt Sylvia but from what I've heard from Mom is that this needs to be on the dl because my one cousin is being possibly hunted by the Steel Council? Don't quote me. I've been working here and with the city's 911 service so I haven't been home too much." Nick told Sam. "To be honest I'm surprised that Cat used her real name."

"This guild is not an asylum Nick you know that. Especially from political persecution. If it's Bosco, Sin will roll over and give her back. I can't afford any kind of protection for her." Sam said with a frustration in his voice. Sin was in debt to Bosco for the airship and sky ports. Without them they would lose billions in imports/exports and tourism.

"I didn't even know they applied until now. I'm not going to tell you anything about them Sam. I'm gonna let you make up your own mind about them. Just know I'm the odd mage out in our family. Do you care if I get back to work?" Nick asked with a smile on his face. "You'll like 'em promise and not because they are related to me."

"Get out of here Sinclair! If I didn't like your ugly mug…" Sam said as the water mage walked out. He grabbed the file and called the number listed in it. He instantly recognized Nick's mother, Opal's voice on the other end. "Hello?"

"Opal…It's Sam. How are you and Frank doing?" he asked with sincerity.

"Oh Sam, we're fine. Let me get Catrina for you. I knew you would call for her and her sister. One second…" Opal said with a smile in her voice.

Sam smiled to himself. He should have known Opal would have known he was calling for her niece. Opal was a mage with divination powers. He tried to recruit her years ago but she turned him down but her husband Frank cam and worked for the Red Foxes for years until Nick was old enough to take over. He was happy to retired with his wife. They had had Nick late in life. Neither regretted it though. Sam started hearing some commotion on the other end. Some argument about joining a guild and to stop worrying joining a guild was the safest thing she'd ever done then a voice was on the line "Hello? This is Cat…I mean Catrina. Catrina Sinclair. Are you calling about my application to the Red Foxes?"

"Hi, yes Ms. Sinclair. You and your sister applied but didn't list your magical abilities. Care to come to the guild and be tested?" Sam asked.

"Uh…not to sound rude or anything but I can't see your eyes but can you tell me if you are the guild master. I'll only come if the master summons me." The woman asked with a nervous tone in her voice.

"Yes I am the guild master, Sam Saxe. You can verify that information with you Aunt Opal." He said then heard muffled Boscan. A dialect he wasn't used to. He knew Opal and Frank's Clan were from the northern mountain ranges of the country and not by the Great Grass Sea.

"Ok when is good for you, Sir?" Cat said on the line again.

"I'm free now."

"My sister and I will be there in about 20 minutes." Cat said and ended the call.

Sam hung up the phone and texted Zosia to be in the lobby in about twenty minutes. He texted Felix and Walker to meet him in the sparring rings in the lower levels of the guild. He always tested new applicants like this. Let Zosia get a feel for them ten test them in the rings to get a feel for their magic. These two, he had no idea what was going to happen. Nick was tight lipped about it.

Twenty minutes later, Zosia watched two women walked into the guild that were obviously not members. They were shorter than Zosia. She watched as the taller one with long blonde hair in a long braid, led slightly and looked around systematically looking at the lobby. Zosia thought she did a good job hiding the fact that she was looking for danger by looking lost instead even with her dark sunglasses on. The blonde looked like a typical tourist that visited Sin this time of the year. Baby-tee that was pink with dark blue compression shorts and black running shoes. The red head looked similar just slightly shorter, tight yellow tank top and same dark blue compression short with black running shoes. She didn't wear the sunglasses just a large sun hat. They did a great job of pulling off the 'lost tourist look'. Zosia gave them points. She kept sitting where she was 'reading' her magazine about homes and gardens.

Cat and Lex dressed to worked out but to also look like tourist. They entered the Fox guild hall like they did a few weeks ago. Lex let Cat take the lead at looking the place over since she had the most experience with that being a Bloodhunter, hopefully an ex-bloodhunter. She made sure to wear a shirt that covered that tattoo on her shoulder. Cat scanned the room and notied a green haired woman sitting and reading a homes and garden magazine. She glanced over her again, green hair, very pale blue eyes. She let the faintest of her soul magic push through and saw a glimpse of the souls in the room. She didn't react at what she saw but she told her sister Lex in their native tongue, "Verið varkár systir. Það er Joyan succubus hjá okkur." Lex just shook her head as they proceeded to the desk. Cat was told by the man at the desk to take the elevator to the second ground level and the master would be there waiting for them.

Sam, Walker, and Felix waited for the elevator to open when Zosia appeared. "Well Sam from what I saw you are going to be happy with one of those girls." Zosia said before she disappeared again.

The elevator opened and the two women came out into the room but stopped about two steps from the elevator. Cat stood there with Lex slightly behind her. She looked around the large room. She could feel the protection runes all around. The room was only partially light. It had concrete walls that were bare but bore the signs that sparring took place here. She had already let her little wondering spirit loose from the bracelet she wore. Tito had move over into a flat piece of wood that was leaning against the wall that had several weapons stored on it. He waited until Cat signaled him.

Cat saw three men in the center of the loose dirt floor. The red head with the cropped hair stood there nonchalantly in loose denim jean and a black tight tee shirt. The shirt defines his muscles well. The magic that see felt from him felt familiar but different. He had a neutral look on his face but his eyes were taking everything in just as she was. The man on his left, a bald man that was a huge wall of muscle. He was a little shorter than the auburn haired man. He reminded her of her old flame in White Seas, Beck Redansa, from the Kutsune Clan, a great beast master now in the White Seas. Teenage lust she thought. The man even had fox tattoos all over him, just not like clan marking tattoos. He just smirked at her and Lex. The final man was about as tall as Cat at the mighty giant height of 5'7" tall. Jet-black hair deeply tanned skin, very serious look on his face, more than the other two. She looked at Lex and said in native Boscan again, " _They are serious even though the big one is wearing a grin. The man in middle, his magic feels very powerful but familiar. I can't explain it. Just watch out and don't forget about the succubus."_ Lex just nodded her head.

"So guys are we at a funeral or are we gonna play?" Cat said with a big grin on her face as she switched Tito in to a dagger on the wall that he was near. Lex moved out from her a few steps but kept her stance relaxed. They were waiting to see what the men were gonna do.

"Oh boss I like her. She's spunky. Well come on girlie. If you think you have the balls to take on a big man like me…let's see what you have." Walker said as he matched Cat's grin. He dropped back into a fighting stance.

"What's the rules of combat first?" Lex asked before Cat moved anywhere.

"Well since we don't know what kind of magic you wield…how bout 30 minutes or til your too exhausted. No fatalities of course, and no serious wounds. Sound good to you two?" Sam said with his sly smile. He liked it when mages when all out. Really gave him a chance to assess them.

"Sounds good to me. Lex?"

"Ready."

Cat charging into the big man bare handed, threw her sunglasses off two steps towards her target. The man went to reach out for a bear hug grapple but she was small and agile and did a baseball slide between his legs as Tito flew to her in the dagger she moved him to then released him back to the board he was in originally. Before the man could recover, she was up and jumped on his back with her legs around his neck. She bent over and looked the man straight in his eyes; her eyes flashed green with figure eyes, "Hi there big and handsome how bout you help a pretty lady out would ya."

"Sure sweetheart, what do you want me to do?" He said with a monotone voice.

"Shorty there help me fight him, k." She asked and the giant man ambled toward Felix with glowing green eyes. Cat hopped off his back and focused on the shorter man. She called out to Lex, "Ok sis tall built and sexy is all yours."

"Got it!" Lex called out from where she was she hadn't even move yet. "You ready to play handsome? I hope you can stand the heat cause I'm about to make it hot in here." She grinned as fired started licking up around her arms and legs. She tossed out a few fireballs at the red head who seemed distracted at the fact that his men were fighting each other.

"Shit!...Huh?" Sam was rarely caught off guard but watching a small petite woman easily dodge Walker and then take control of him so easily and quickly shocked him to where he didn't notice the trio of fireballs heading his way. He requipped to his full plated armor with shield and long sword. He was barely able to block the fireballs in time but took the hits. They didn't feel that powerful. He looked over at the curly red head. She was now and raging inferno of fire that was burning so bright she was giving off white flames in the center. He was starting to sweat in his armor. He charged her with his shield in place. But missed when she was raised in the air by a piece of wood? What the hell was going on with these women. He heard the red hair call out, "Requip mage, Cat!"

Cat was busy with her new friend trying to find an opening in the earth mages defense. She looked at the man she had possessed, "Show me big man what you can do to get me passed the earth mages defenses." No sooner than the sentence left her mouth the defenses that the earth mage put up were blown to pieces leaving Cat an opening to get to the mage. She was getting tired it had been 15 minutes of fighting. This is longest she had ever had to use her Figure eyes coupled with Tito holding Lex up in the air away from the requip mage. She was tiring. She slid in and once she was able to get in close for hand to hand she was able to draw first blood on the earth mage's wrist. Now she had to figure out what to do with big and muscle bound. "Ok baldy how bout we help my sister out and fight with handsome over there?" That's when the spell broke and the big man turned on her.

"I don't think so niñita." Came a gritting voice that was breathing heavy. Shit she thought.

"Times up Lex! I need Tito back!" Cat yelled.

"I'm good! Got the wind going!" Lex said as the board left her and she stayed floating in the air while raining fire down on the requip mage.

Cat switched target and ran toward the requip mage who was doing a hell of a job keeping from getting baked. She was behind the man he was in full plate with a sword and shield. With quick thinking she moved Tito to the shield and Tito jerked the shield and the flames did their job. Requip mage down. Big man left to go. "Lex explosion mage any ideas?" Cat was huffing.

"Times up ladies! I'm impressed." Came a sultry voice.

Cat turned and saw the green haired woman that she sense as a Joyan succubus. She stayed in a battle stance holding out her dagger towards Zosia. "Succubus! Are you truly the guild master? Was I lied to by 'Sam' to lure me back to the Steel Council? I'll die trying if you think I'm gonna let Grendace take me back and do his bidding. You can tell him I'm finished."

Zosia laughed, "Ah so I did see your eyes flash if ever the faintest of green in the lobby, little seith mage. You are correct. I am a FORMER Joyan succubus, but I still hold my fangs and poisons. I am not the guild master that honor goes to Sam and I can guarantee I have nothing to do with the Steel Council in Bosco or the late Captain Grendace. You seem surprised that he is dead? The old Bloodhunter have been disbanded. You are a free woman and your family is safe." Zosia reassured the blonde.

"Fuck chica you pack a punch in those pretty eyes of yours. I got a headache from them and trying to fight against your commands." Walker said as he walked over rubbing his eyes and temples.

"So you are a seith mage and your sister here is a fire mage but how do you get your fire so hot and not comsume yourself?" Sam asked already requipped back to his normal clothes.

Lex answered, "While yes I am a fire mage but I also can control the wind. So I'm able to pull the air to fan the flames while keeping my skin from getting burned or I can use the wind to snuff out the flames." Lex smiled.

"Well how would you two like to become Red Foxes?" Sam asked grateful that the Gods hear his prayers for a seith mage and blessed him with a fiery wind mage for a bonus.

A/N Thanks the reviews I love them. Keeps me going.

With the Erik/Lucy pairing I wanted to explore a little of the side of relationship where the couple breaks up because one feels inadequate for the other partner. I'm sure we have all went through this in our lives. I did with my husband. It makes you look at yourself closer. I just wanted to shake it up a bit. Relationships require a lot communication. We know Lucy can do it, but it is challenging for Erik. Just remember the quote I put at the beginning when thinking about Erik.

Gray is still trying to figure out his inner devil and his feeling for Piper. For Piper there are things to come don't worry.

Yes, Cat and Lex Sinclair are back and they are now officially Foxy ladies. I've changed the background on them some. They are going to be very helpful in taking down the 12 Crows.

Thanks for reading.

Fairy Tail is Hiro's and the intermittent appearances of the Pradesh's belong to the lovely and talented Desna.

Translations:

buenos dias y gracias : good morning and thanks

"¡Hay un cierto bufón que se hace pasar por un caballero galante que no puede correr una carrera justa para ganar una apuesta tonta!" : "There is a certain jester who pretends to be a gallant knight who can not run a fair race to win a dumb bet!"

Verið varkár systir. Það er Joyan succubus hjá okkur : Be careful sister. There is a Joyan succubus with us


	7. The Soul of a Fox

The Soul of a Fox

 _The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives the passion that she shows…._ – Audrey Hepburn

Cat, Lex, Sam and the other men took the elevator up to the Sam's office. They chatted on they ride up about mundane things like how long the women have been in West Nitspring and how long they planned on staying, where's a good place to eat, things of that nature. Once they reached Sam's office, the men took a position on either side of Sam as he gestured for Cat and Lex to have a seat on the large cushioned couch. Sam nodded to Felix and Walker to take a seat as well they moved over to chairs on opposite sides of the women. Sam looked at both the women. Keen hazel eyes meeting and holding bright green eyes then bright blue concentric eyes without fear.

"OK ladies, we have tested your abilities and we are pleased with how you performed. You work well as a team but that's because your sisters, am I right?" Sam asked with an authoritative tone.

Cat not backing down from the authoritative mannerism straightened her back and pulled her shoulders back, "Yes sir, we are related and that is the only reason we work well together." Cat replied in a soldier's tone.

"What I want to know is what you aren't telling me. Two young ladies with control over magical powers like that at such a young age, especially you Catrina. Taking over Walker like that to blast through Felix's defenses. It was brilliant. Mind telling me where you got your training and who you're afraid of?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.

Cat squirmed in her seat. She was afraid to tell the guild master she was a Bloodhunter. She was worried he might turn her away. She thought to herself, put your big girl panties on. You want to start over away from Bosco and Daddy. "Well sir…you see…I'm a…"

"Bloodhunter. She's a bloodhunter, Sam. And if you look on her right shoulder I'm sure your find a red and black shield. And according to the intel I was able to gather from Bosco she also a death dealer. Aren't you Lovey?" Zosia had finished Cat's sentence as the seith looked at the greenette with narrowed eyes.

"I only did what I had to do to keep Lex from getting killed. That motherfucker of a Captain, Grendace, dangled her in front of me like some sick carrot making me carry out missions. So yes I've killed and I've obtained information by ripping out memories from a person's soul. And if you done your homework, Joyan succubus, you know I've killed plenty of your killed and dined on their souls while I was possessed by a shade that my father had planted in me when I was a child that my grandmother had to removed." Cat seethed at Zosia. Lex sat there with her green eyes huge at the information

Lex whispered loudly, "I never knew all that."

"I know I tried to keep it from you. Like I said I wanted to keep you safe. You were safe as long as you were in the White Sea." Cat soothed her in a hug. She had tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. She glared at the succubus.

"Well little kitty cat, there is no need to glare at me. I told you before I'm a reformed Joyan succubus and I really would like it if you would join me in the Red Foxes as part of the Eyes and Ears. We really could use your skills. Also I did do some checking, you nightmare with Captain Grendace is no longer. He is dead. All you need to do is check in with your contact and they will give you further information. You and your family have been on the run for a long time haven't you?" Zosia told the blonde with a sorrowful look in her pale pale blue eyes.

"You have no idea. I'll call my contact later. If a Joyan succubus can change her colors so can a Boscan Bloodhunter and Death Dealer. You have my word." Cat stood and held her hand out to the greenette.

Walker cleared his throat, "Well that leaves you Red, doesn't it. I could always use more firepower in my division. I want you for the Fangs. You can be as flashy as you want with those pretty flames of yours." He laughed. "Never seen the boss man here have to work so hard to keep from being a crispy critter."

"Shut it Walker I had it under control until something took my shield. By the way what was that anyway? How did I lose my shield?" Sam asked with a slight hint of confusion in his voice. He had battled seith mages before and knew to look out for their figure eyes.

"Oh that was Tito. My wondering soul. I can move his soul around to various objects and talk to him telepathically. Uhh…let see…there…" Cat explained and moved Tito to a small paper weight on the desk. The small weight came to life and floated up to Sam's eye level. "Hi! Fox! Fox!" It spun around and then went back to where it was and was quiet again.

"Interesting. We have many seith mages in Sin but I've never seen them take a wondering soul as a pet, companion, that would be a better word." Sam said.

"That's because boss, the ones we deal with are usually just ripping and shredding souls out of beings to put in lacrimas to sell. She's probably the first one we have met that is a practicing good one." Walker added.

"You should meet Grammie then she has about three of them that help her. It's a strain on your magic pool but one you get used to it you don't notice it. She taught a boy a little older than me I think he keeps five of them all the time." Cat smiled.

"Well like I said welcome to the Foxes ladies where do you want your emblems?" Sam asked with a sly grin.

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Final week closed up for Piper. She was so happy she could let her hair down relax not have to worry about getting to the guildhall on time, no papers to grade, no questions to answer. Now she just needed to figure out what to do for the summer. She had now been in Magnolia for five weeks. It had been almost two months since those mages broke into her apartment and destroyed it. She missed West Nitespring and her mother and brother. She had sat and talked to her papa about it one night, she didn't do much while she lived on her own. She jogged, worked, studied, ate and slept. Now she had some friends that were pretty amazing. They didn't care if she was not a mage, respected her insight to life and her culture.

She absolutely adored her neighbors, Bixlow and Erik. She wasn't sure how the tall Boscan put up with the snarky poison dragon slayer. He told her he grew up with two of them in his large family. He was used to the broodiness of dragon slayers. She also learned that Erik was the same Erik that broke up with Lucy. She never pushed the subject. She would just come over and Flick would flitter ,if you could call a three foot snake flying flittering, over to the dragon slayer. They would always seem like they would be deep in discussion.

Piper did fulfill her bet with Bix even though he cheated to win. She remembered that night. "I don't see why I have to entertain the idea of this bet considering you cheated and used your little tikis to lift me up in the air long enough to beat me to the guildhall. You know I am not a mage." She huffed with her arms across her chest while the knight cackled with his tongue out.

"It's not my fault my babies decided to take you up in the air for a few minutes." He chuckled. His totems floated up and surrounded her, "Bella, Bella, Bella" they chanted and tormented her like flies.

Piper batted at them, "Uh turn your telekinetic magic off you bufón!" She laughed but Bix didn't. He looked at her with his mouth slightly agape.

"Uh…Belladonna…I'm not a telekinetic mage." Bix said as he pulled his visor off. She had never seen the man without something over his eyes. That heavy visor or dark sunglasses he ran with, they were always covered. She looked at his naked face for the first time. She took in how handsome his face was with his little man tattoo and curly eyelashes, blue eyebrows. He had very pretty red eyes that were odd looking to her. She just looked at him like she looked at other people. He looked back at her with an expectance reaction.

"What am I not getting here?" She smiled with confusion. She looked at Bix then at Freed then at Ever who both had a weird look on their faces. "Do I have something on my face?" Wiping her mouth off.

Ever broke the uncomfortable silence, "Piper, sweetie, your guild, what kind of mages does it have? I mean aren't you familiar with sensing other people's magic?" Ever asked softly.

"Uh…the Foxes I know have my brother and mama who are requip gunner mages, and I know Walker and Felix are explosions and earth magic…Zosia I've only talk to about her poison and venom spells. I just joined the guild the day I left for Fiore. I can't sense magic. I have no magic in me even though Mama and Papa are mages. I've told you guys I'm not magical. So why are you looking at me like I'm missing the punch line?" Piper said with more embarrassment and a touch of frustration in her voice.

Bix stopped Ever and said, "We'll talk about it tonight, on our…daaate. I promise to be a gentleman." Bix said as he was putting his visor back on.

Piper sighed heavily, "Ok fine what do I need to wear for this date."

"Ha! I knew I'd get you to go out with me sooner than later! We're going dancing so wear something that will move. See ya at eight!" Bix whooped as he shot up and hopped on his babies and floated down to the first floor.

"Dios mío, ese hombre está loco." Piper said shaking her head. She looked at Freed as Ever excused herself from the table, "Freed seriously, what am I missing? And why do you guys insist I'm a mage?"

Freed looked at the woman who had slowly became a good friend to him. He enjoyed their intellectual discussions. He thought over the past three weeks she had never used any magic other than her electronics and her two rings but yet she emitted a calming soothing magic. Then he had an idea. "Piper may I see your guild emblem?"

Piper thought it was an odd request but she gave the rune mage her left forearm that was marked with a fox curled in a circle in black. He looked at it, moved her arm around, then held his hand over the emblem and then finally placed his warm slender hand on it. She watched him as his hand touched it. His eyes closed, a calmness had washed over him and then he pulled back in shocked. He shook his hand a little. His one visible blue eye looked right into her yellow ones, "Piper, It's your emblem. It is emitting faint magic that is soothing to my magic but it's not yours. Its protecting you. That's probably why you feel like a magic user to us. I think we need to talk to Laxus, but we are leaving for a mission tomorrow. I mention it while we are out." Freed said with a reassurance that Piper needed.

"Thank you Freed. Now can you get me out of this 'date' with my neighbor?" Piper pleaded.

"Sorry, Bix has had his mind on taking you out. Enjoy yourself. Maybe you can rope some of the girls into helping you get ready." Freed offered with an apologetic look.

Piper walked home that afternoon wondering what she was going to wear. She never went dancing. Hell last dance she went to was her high school prom and that was only because her parents made her take the night off from studying. She didn't have a date, sat, and drank punch in a coral pink puffy dress, miserable. She walked through the front door of the brownstone she was living at and called out to her father, "Papa! Lucas! I'm home I need help for my date tonight with our neighbor and I have questions about our guild Papa!" She hung her keys up on the hook on the wall. She didn't get an answer immediately but heard soft moans from the master bedroom. She just shook her head, smiled and went up to her bedroom. At least someone is getting laid in this house she thought with a laugh.

Piper entered her room and went over to let Flick out of his terrarium. Flick was about three feet long and was startling people as they strolled through town. So she had been keeping him at home. She hated doing it but she was keeping everyone safe. As she opened the door on the terrarium, Flick darted out and headed toward the French doors that lead to the balcony in her room. It looked out over the backyard. She opened it and let him out so he could sunbathe but instead he took flight and went next door to Bix's house. She cursed at the not so little snake as she went back down stairs and next door and knocked.

The door opened and she was expecting Bix with some smart ass quip about being early, but the man from the other morning that barged into her home answered. "What!?" He hissed. His single indigo eye narrowed on her. She brushed off his bristly greeting, smiled and tried to push past him like he did to her. She needed to find he sneaky little friend. To her surprise the maroon haired man did budge and she was met with a tall lanky wall of sinewy muscle and a more pissed off look. "I can hear your fucking soul woman and his. He's out back in the yard hunting. I'll watch him with you go endure this date with Bix as your soul keeps screeching about. Now if you don't mind taking your loud ass soul back to your house, get yourself dolled up for Bix so he can show you a good time. I promise he won't let you down." The last part was said with a sly smirk as he shoved her back out on the stop and slammed the door in her face.

Piper stood there momentarily shocked at what the man had just told her. She then thought could she hear her at nights when she was lonely. The door swung open again, he was there again with that same smirk, "Yes I've heard you on those nights as well, you dirty girl. Now get out of here." The door slammed shut again. With her eyes wide opened and a now blush on her face she hurried back over to her home to get ready.

Eight o'clock rolled around and Piper was fidgeting in the kitchen with Oscar and Lucas. "Stop it Papa you act like I'm going to the Prom again." She tugged at the high collar of the dress. It had the high silver ring for a collar that secured the deep blue material that came down covering her bust. She wasn't as blessed as Lucy but she had enough to stretch the blue fabric out. Her entire back was exposed. The dress tapered at her waist and then the skirt was loose to just above her knees. She wore simple silver strappy heels. Lucas had given her a delicate bracelet with her birthstones. It was set in silver. Her hair, Lucas had insisted that she wear it up. He helped her set the purple tresses up in a crown of curls with some wisps hanging down. "Ok you two need to stop before you break out a camera lacrima." She said shooing them away. The doorbell rang and they both fought over who would answer the door.

Bixlow stood on an identical stoop as his own how not thirty feet from his own home. He felt a little nervous. He had bought her a small bouquet of belladonna lilies, not the poisonous ones. He wore a royal blue short-sleeved button up with the top two button undone and dark gray cotton dress slacks. He left his sunglasses at home. After he knocked on the door, he heard a little commotion behind it and then it open. He smile dropped when he saw the man's face.

Oscar Hatchet was an open-minded man. He was in a same sex marriage with his loving husband. He loved his children very much. He loved all life had to offer, but after his son, Riko, was kidnapped by his then girlfriend that was a seith mage. He has some reservations on that certain type of mage. His neighbor he had known since he moved here four years ago. He was a quiet man. He worked out in the morning, nothing to loud late at night. He respected his neighbors. Oscar respected this man. He knew he was a guild mage with Fairy Tail. He knew he fought hard for his country. Where Oscar's issue was he didn't know he had been living next door to a seith mage for the past four years. He wasn't a man to quickly judge before talking to an individual. He stepped out on the stoop and closed the door. "Mr. Pradesh, I have been your neighbor for the past four years. We have waved in passing but never spoke face to face until now. Now you are wanting to take my daughter, the light of my life out on a date. I can see with my own eyes the magic you practice. I'm sure you are aware of the stigma that come with it so I won't say anything other than a seith mage has hurt my family in the past don't let there be a second one. Am I understood, son?"

Bix took a gulp and swallowed. He knew the stigma with seith mages. He was sent to Fiore to live with Laxus when he was 15. His dad, Arman Pradesh, worked hard to get him out of Bosco when seith magic was outlawed. He knew there were more dark seith mages out there than good. Before he was basically smuggled out of Bosco he had a wonderful teacher, Sylvia Sinclair. She was loving kind and lived in the old ways on the seith. She had her own daughter and granddaughter that were seith mages. He was taught the walk the way of the light and fight the darkness. All seith mages had to fight the darkness. It was inherit in the magic. Standing there on the stoop he felt like a teenager again. He looked Oscar in the eyes and held out his hand and said, "I will honor your daughter sir. I know the kind of mages you are referring to and that is not who I am, sir. My father taught me to be respectful of people and my magic and my master taught me a deeper understanding of respect for my magic. I do not use my magic for evil but for the betterment of my guild, my family and myself, sir" Bix acknowledged Oscar's unspoken fears. He watched the older man reaction to his response.

Oscar smiled at the blue haired man. He knew that this mage held his magic with respect. "Ok then come on in and let's let you give those beautiful lilies to my daughter." He said as he clapped the taller man on the back. "Hija mía, tu cita está aquí y él tiene algo que darte y decirte." Oscar called out as the two entered the house.

"Papa I'm 26 years old I think I can handle going out on a date with our wonderful neighbor. Did you go and intimidate him?" Piper returned as the two entered the kitchen where she and Lucas were talking. She saw the serious look on her father face and the expression on Bix's face that she had never seen the man have before. It was a look of consternation. "Papa what did you say to him?" Piper glared at her father.

"It's ok, Piper. Your father has raised some family issues that I feel I need to set straight right now so that nothing gets misunderstood. Piper I'm not a telekinetic mage. I'm seith mage. I was born with that magic…" Bix started

Piper face screwed up in a scrunched up look trying to process what her friend was telling her. "Wait you're a seith mage. The kind that will suck out my soul or possess me and make me do unspeakable things and then kidnap me and sell me…Nope…not going down that road…Papa did you know?" Piper had fear raising in her voice. "Bix were you going to try to kidnap me tonight and take me back to SIN to work for your drug ring boss…and and and" Piper's brain just started spiraling with anxiety and fear. She started hyperventilating. The fiasco of what happened to Riko slammed into Piper's mind so fast she didn't have time to process everything. She heard and saw the three men in the kitchen talking and moving but she registered nothing. She sank to the kitchen floor sobbing and shaking. She hated being like this. She thought she was safe here in Magnolia with her Papa and Dad. Her mind couldn't think about anything other than what Riko had told her ten years ago.

 _"Hermana, I need to talk to you." Riko had said as he walked into her room. He had been gone for three weeks before he came back. He was withdrawn and wouldn't talk to anyone. Today though he decided to talk to her._

 _"Hermano, what is wrong?" Piper asked her older brother. He told her what happened in all its gory details. He spared her nothing. At that point in time he hadn't even open up to their parents. Thay sat on her bedroom floor embraced crying. He vowed vengeance to her to wipe out every seith mage because they were nothing but evil mage users because his now dead girlfriend, warped his emotions for her to lure him to Pergrnade to be used as a slave. Piper Remember how happy he used to be with that girl._

She sat now on her Papa's kitchen floor stuck in that memory. She was frozen in her brother's own traumatic emotional torment. Riko never told his father what really happened to him. She knew exactly what happened and know to be face to face with an actual seith mage who she had become great friends with was tearing her apart. Bixlow never did anything undesirable or malice towards her. He was always a gentleman. He may have said pervy things but he said that to everyone. No one was safe from his savage tongue.

Her mind was stuck in a loop. She would go through what Riko had told her ten years ago and then go through everything the past two months. She could hear her Papa saying her name over and over but she couldn't respond. She was stuck in a cationic state. Piper had finally cracked under the stress of all that had happened to her. She felt her father pick her up and carry her upstairs and place her in her bed.

Bixlow watched in horror as his friend started to slide to the floor. It all happened in slow motion. He had been watching her soul. It was ok. It have a few mended cracks in it. Probably from just regular old life, relationships ending, family stress. He would watch it light up whenever Fullbuster was around. He just wanted to take her out get her mind off things. Show her a nice time dance, dinner, and take her home. He knew she wasn't the girl for him. She never gave off that vibe. He considered her a good friend and that was it. "Oscar I know you rhave reservations about my magic but can I just check her to make sure she's ok? Then I'll make some phone calls to get my brothers here and Wendy." He asked Oscar.

"Uh…yes please anything to help her…" He tried to hold the panic back in his voice. He should have known Piper was hiding her emotions back. She was so good at it. He watched the seith mage's eye glow green as he looked at his daughter laying on her bed. It was maybe a minute, but he was done and was telling him something about her soul and it was ok. He sat on the edge of her bed as he was on his phone making phone calls to his family.

Oscar heard a crash of thunder outside his house that made him jump and then pounding on his front door. Lucas had beat him to the door since he was still upstairs with Piper. First, he heard the laughter of a young girl and Bix, the baritone voices mixed with a growl. As he sat on the bed with his daughter, he her a knock on her door, it was open already. He saw a tall platinum blond man with pale lavender eyes standing there. Oscar swore up and down the man was an angel. He made a cross symbol over his chest as he said, "Gracias a Dios por el ángel que enviaste para ayudar a mi hija."

The man chuckled as he entered the room, "Sir, I am no angel but I am here to help your daughter in any way I can. My name is Kaleb Pradesh. Bixlow's older brother." He looked down at the woman on the bed and frowned. "Do you care if I take a look at her?"

Oscar studdered, "No…no…please go ahead anything you need to do to help mi hija."

Kaleb settled himself on the opposite side of the bed and held Piper's hand. He closed his eyes and pushed inside her mind. He saw all the turmoil in her mind: the hardships growing up in a mage guild as a non-mage, the scene of her as a 16-year-old girl being told by her brother the horrors he endured, the attack at her apartment, Vander scaring the piss out of her, her fear of this drug ring kidnapping her, Bix telling her he's a seith mage, her feelings for an ice mage. She was stuck in her own mind and in there she reverted to the safest point she could remember: an 8-year-old girl. He tried to talk to her. They were in her mind but her mind placed them in a bedroom that was decorated in pink with frill and ribbons. "Hi Piper, My names Kaleb. Our dad wants me to talk to you."

The small purple haired girl kept her back to him and only said, "Papa says I shouldn't talk to strangers. You're a stranger. You should go." Kaleb felt a strong push on him to leave. He withdrew from her mind. He turned to Oscar and told him what happened.

"Mr. Hatchet, do you mind if I try one more time but a different approach? It's not something I would normally do but she has regressed in her mind to an 8-year-old." Kaleb asked the elder man in a soft voice.

"Yes, please anything you can think of to help her." Oscar pleaded.

Kaleb left the bedroom and went downstairs to see his mate standing with his arms crossed over his chest glaring at Bix while he played with a little blonde haired girl with pigtails. The little girls was talking between Bix and Lucas, weaving stories about dragons and foxes. She jumped up, ran over to Laxus, and jumped into his arms. She said, "Daddy I need to go help Dad get a fox out of a trap, K? Stop being so grumpy Daddy. Dragons and foxes are best friends." She kissed Laxus on the cheek and wiggled down then ran over to Bix, "You too Uncle Bixy, we need you to help with the little flame."

Laxus couldn't stay mad around his daughter Ila. She always knew what to say to make him smile. She was only six years old and acted like the wise old woman at times. Kaleb would tell him it's because she could perceive things better than either of them. She had the heighten senses of a dragon slayer and she was starting to show the capacity for his mind-bending magic. Laxus looked at Kaleb and they shared a nonverbal conversation. _I need Ila for this. Piper has reverted to an 8-year-old and essentially pushed me out. I need Ila to try since she is basically her age._

 _Fine, but I'm still not happy about it at all. I told you this woman would be trouble._

 _Laxus she is trouble. She's in trouble. She's having a psychotic break and is in a catatonic state._

Ila bound upstairs, "Daddy remember dragons and foxes are friends." She smiled as she disappeared upstairs.

 _Piper sat in her bedroom that was pink and purple little hearts on her bedspread. She sat playing with a stuffed fox. She heard another girl in her room. She turned to see another little girl in her room._

 _"Hi. Who are you do you want to play with me?" Piper asked the blonde little girl._

 _Oh, I would love to. Can I bring my toy with me? It's a dragon. My name is Ila by the way." The older little girl told Piper._

 _"A dragon? Wow! They aren't real are they? I like my foxes. They keep me safe from the bad things." Piper explained._

 _"Oh no dragons are very real. I'm a dragon slayer. My daddy is a dragon slayer. I have an aunt and uncle who are dragon slayers and I've met a real dragon. You would like her. She's so beautiful. She's the color of the night sky. What about your fox what do they look like?" Ila went on._

 _Piper sat there wide eyed, "You know a real dragon? Wow. My fox is Sam. He's an old man. I don't think he knows that I know but he's a real fox. I saw his tail once. It was fluffy and red with a white tip. I was playing hide and seek when I saw it. He always makes me feel safe. Now I'm here so far away from him, but I'm with my Papa and Dad now."_

 _Ila laughed, "That's funny. A fox hiding his tail. What about the other fox? What do they look like?_

 _Piper giggled, "The other fox is black and is shy. She had yellow eyes just like me. She hides in here." Piper pointed to her chest._

 _"Wow, so are you a fox? And what happened tonight to make you not feel safe?" Ila asked as she saw a flash of black ears appear on the girls head and quickly vanish._

 _Piper swallowed a bitter gulp, "I don't want to talk about the black fox, but I was supposed to go out with a good friend but he has scary magic and is probably going to try to steal me like the same kind of mage tried to steal my brother. I like Bixlow. He funny and nice..." Piper started to cry._

 _Ila being a sweet and mature 6-year-old crawled over to the other girl and hug her, "Uncle Bix would never hurt you. He is funny and nice and likes to make other happy. Uncle Bix doesn't like to steal people. Someone tried to steal me once when I was with him and Uncle Freed. They didn't do nice things to that person. So I promise, Uncle Bix wasn't going to steal you."_

As Ila sat there holding Piper hand talking to the 8-year-old Piper in her mind, Bix was watching his friend soul. He has seen it many times in the past three weeks. It was its vibrant purple like her hair. In a instant it wavered ever so slightly. Most seiths wouldn't have been able to perceive it. Bix almost didn't, but it pulsated with just a flash of a black fox appeared around the purple flame and then it was gone in a flash.

Ila was on the bed in reality holding Pipers head and soothing the older woman. The little girl had broken the state of catatonia. Ila stepped back and curled up into her Dad's lap as Piper reached for her Papa. Kaleb carried Ila out of the bedroom back downstairs to let Laxus know everything was fine. He needed to soothe his grumpy dragon, but Ila beat him to it, "Daddy, Dad, I want ice cream, pretty please."

Bixlow felt awkward standing there and tried to excuse himself from the room but Piper caught him. She had darted off her Papa's lap and had him in a bear hug. "I'm sorry Bix. I really am. Fear overwhelmed me. Your little niece showed me who you are, which I think I already knew, but I refused to trust my gut because of everything that has happened to me over the past two months. In West Nitespring, there are no 'good' seith mages. They are all dark. That's why I overreacted and I'm truly deeply sorry."

Bix was caught off guard by the apology. He was used to women being put off by his magic. The was Piper explained it to him she wasn't put off of him, but just put off of his magic because the only seith mages she knew were dark. He returned her hug. "It's ok Belladonna. I understand. Maybe a raincheck on our 'date'? I'm leaving in the morning for a long mission."

"Aww but who's gonna jog with me in the morning or annoy the shit out of me every day and eat my fries?" Piper whined jokingly.

"Try Erik. He's not a morning person but he's snarky as fuck. You may bribe him with Flick. He loves havati venom." Bix laughed as they walked back downstairs. Lucas and Oscar were downstairs alone. Oscar had left the room shortly after Piper got off the bed. "Well it's getting late, and we are leaving early. If you don't mind checking on Erik for me. Maybe feed him."

"Wait is he your roommate or pet?" Piper laughed at him.

"Both kinda. Since he dumped Lucy's he's been mopey broody dragon boy."

"What about this date?" She looked at him with a little disappointment.

Bix sighed, "Belladonna look I originally wanted to take you out show you Magnolia dance eat laugh, maybe steal a kiss, but I know your soul lights up for another and I'm forever stuck in the friend zone. Don't look at me like that. Remember I'm a seith mage. You can hide feeling but not your soul. Ha ha." He laughed as he pointed to his eyes. "I also will make sure that nothing happens to you because I do consider a good friend." He gave her a big hug and a chaste kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you when I get back. May sure to walk him twice a day, ok?" Bix laughed as he left. As he left the house was did the really short hop skip and jump to his home he was glad that everything worked out in the end. He was glad that Piper under stood that his magic wasn't evil. It had it dark components to it. He knew he needed to get her more comfortable around magic because if what Ila seen and he felt pulsate was true, something powerful was locked away deep inside Piper.

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Now here she sat another three weeks later finishing up finals week. Bixlow was still out on his mission as well as Lucy and her friends. She wasn't sure what to do with herself. The guild was pretty busy with Spring coming to an end and Summer starting to pick up. Even Erik was gone, he had grumbled at her and slammed the door in her face but she offered him Flick as a peace offering. He refused to jog with her but he would walk to the guildhall with Flick and meet her there. She went over to the dark little corner of the top area. She slid into the booth and just ate her fries and petted Flick.

She found out what happened between him and Lucy. She didn't pry, didn't ask. They were just sitting there silently. She was eating her fries and he was stealing a few of them. He had been 'talking' to Flick.

"I dumped Lucy because I'm afraid I'm not good enough for her. She's the most caring thoughtful beautiful woman that I know. I'm so in love with her it fucking hurts to know that I'm putting her through all this because I'm being a pussy about it." He just blurted it out.

Piper just kept eating her fries and didn't say anything. She looked at him and he looked at her expectantly, "Oh you want me to say something back. Usually when you blurt shit out like that I just figured you are talking to Flick and not me." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Usual when two people have a conversation there is a back and forth verbal exchange. And I think Box is subbing off on you with that tongue shit." Erik rumbled.

"Usually that's how a conversation goes but your anything but a normal person. Maybe I should just let Flick bit you again, get you good and high then have these conversation. You're a great conversationalist then." Piper laughed. The day Flick bite him it was a scary day for Piper and great day for Erik. He didn't have to wait for Christmas anymore.

"OK fine. Lucy I'm pretty sure loves the ever loving shit out of you, but you are too coiled up in your own damn mind because of your terrible past that I don't want to know about because that's your business. So let's look at it this way, remember that day we first met? Flick was stuck in his first shedding. You told me if he didn't shed his skin he would die. Well Lover boy if you don't shed your skin you're going lose Lucy regardless of how forgiving and shit she is. Hot chicks like that will only wait for so long and I'm betting there are guys knocking on her door. What about that ginger hair guy with the sunglasses I see her with sometimes that hits on her she just yells at. He's a handsome guy." Piper just laid the facts out in front of Erik he was a no nonsense man. His response was he just growled and left with Flick.

"Don't let him bite you too much…" She called out at him. He just flipped her off.

"Yep love you too you bristly dragon!"

Piper went downstairs and plopped on a barstool. She was bored with was three in the afternoon too early to get drunk. She watched Mira wipe the bar down. She wasn't as busy as she had been earlier. She walked over to Piper, "Why hello there Piper how are you doing? You look a little lost with Bix and Cobra." She said with a smile.

"Meh. Bix is still out on whatever he's doing. Erik is mad at me and had turned me into a woman who using fuck more than I ever have. Papa just laughs at me. He said his daughter with a PhD swears like a sailor now. Anyway…can I talk you into to letting me cook some Sinese food tonight for the guild, Mira?" Piper just prattled off.

A/N Hey thanks for hanging in there with me this far. I know its creeping along. I've been busy with work and life. I'm trying to build a good base structure for everyone to grow on. I've got ideas brewing. Halloween is upon us. That's a busy time for me. Hope you are enjoying this so far. Leave me some reviews to let me know how your like how this.

Ila kinda just came to me. After reading how the lovely Desna set up Laxus and Kaleb, I wondered what if Laxus didn't hide his true feeling when we was in Bosco when he was banished from Fairy Tail and they actually had a baby. And BAM! Ila Dreyer Pradesh was born, baby mind bender dragon slayer.

Translations

Dios mío, ese hombre está loco : Oh my god this man is crazy

Hija mía, tu cita está aquí y él tiene algo que darte y decirte : My daughter, your date is here and he has something to give you and tell you

Gracias a Dios por el ángel que enviaste para ayudar a mi hija : Thank God for the angel you sent to help my daughter.


	8. The Fox and the Crow

The Fox and the Crow

 _A Crow was sitting on a branch of a tree with a piece of cheese in her beak… just to show the Fox that she could sing she gave a loud caw. Down came the cheese, of course, and the Fox, snatching it up, said, "You have a voice, madam, I see: what you want is wits." –Aesop_

Bullets rang out in the warehouse district; explosions were going off in the near distance. Riko had just fished taking out a couple of dark guild members in the warehouse he was in. He and his team were systematically going through the warehouse district clearing out the new drug ring that had formed call "The 12 Crows". All Riko knew was that a new mob boss moved in about three months ago and slowly taken out the dark guild masters, drug lords, and executives of the illegal trading companies and unified them all under one mafia boss known as "The Shadow Master".

He seen movement out of the corner of his eye to the left up on the giant wooden crates marked for export to Seven. A flash of a long blonde braid told him who it was. Zosia's newest recruit, some chick from Bosco. He'd been too busy to learn any details about her other than she could be deadly up close with a pair of daggers. He didn't do too much digging on Zosia's people. It kept everyone safe because they couldn't be questioned about their own spies. He picked up him paced as he heard the familiar sounds of fighting.

He rounded a corner to with his twin ladies drawn and ready. The scene he came upon was somewhat confusing. The petite blonde wielding twin daggers doing the dance of death with a man that was the size of Walker but had a taste for ice. The brute was laughing as he made his own twin blades as the circled each other. "Aww come on pretty. Let's not fight. Come 'ere and give Bronx a smooch. I won't bite much." He laughed.

"No thanks meathead. I like my men who look less like a dildo and that don't break into women's apartment's and kill their pet snakes, you big douche." Cat spat back at the bald headed monster. She had been tracking this man for two weeks. She had been in the Foxes for three weeks and had been giving this task. Apparently, this dipshit and two others broke into a guild mates flat, tried to "persuade" her to join this shitty crow guild to make drugs, and when she escaped they trashed the place and killed all the poor woman's pet snakes. She had already track and taken into custody the shadow mage and other seith mage. Now she had the ice make mage enforcer to apprehend.

"Stupid bitch deserved…" the monster started but a double shout had rang out. The man just dropped to his knees, fell forward into a puddle of blood that was forming around his head. Cat didn't flinch but ran forward toward the now dead body, her eyes flaring to life with the green light as she tried to grasp hold of the man's soul before it left his body, "No! No! No! You big dumb bastard don't you fucking die yet!" Cat screamed. She was kneeling in the puddle of blood, grabbed the man by the shirt and rolled him over onto his back. She saw the bullet hole mid-chest and in his neck. She wasn't trying to staunch the blood flow she searched with her eyes for the tell tell little flickering flame that resides in everyone's chest. "There you big dumb idiot. Never would have taken you for having a pink soul." Cat's magic latched onto the little flame and coaxed it out of the dying man's chest. She pulled a magic container from her belt and placed the little flame in it. She got out her cell and dialed a number but before she could say anything to anyone that may have pick it up she felt the hard tip of cool gunmetal on her scalp. The voice that came with it was one she would never forget.

"Give me one reason seith, why I should let you live and not give you another hole in your pretty little head?" Riko seethed at the blonde seith mage. The woman didn't flinch. She didn't break down and start sobbing or plead for her life. She was quite the opposite. Cool, calm, collective. He watched her take a deep breath and let it out while her shoulders sagged. She said one word, "Tito." She never moved from her position or addressed Riko.

Riko was usually a patient man but this woman didn't say anything to him. He knew she knew he was there and who the fuck is Tito. There wasn't anyone else in this warehouse besides him, her, and a cooling dead body. He blinked and shifted no one moved for what felt like forever but only a few moments had past. Then without notice, his long black duster had a mind of its own. He was now fighting his own coat. It had pulled his arms across his chest and effectively pinned his arms. He fought back against his coat, but it was no used his duster had become essentially a strait jacket the blonde in front of him was the key. He had fear and anxiety now dumping adrenaline into his blood system. Never had he felt so helpless as he did right now. He was an exceptional requip gunner mage, but with his arms and hands pins to his opposite sides, he was at her mercy. He watched the lithe petite blonde stand from the crouching position and stand, square herself up to him, and walk slowly towards him. Her eyes no longer with that eerie green light that seith mages have. He swallow bile, his heart raced. The past came rushing back at him.

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"Serenity why are we heading towards Pergrande. It's not safe this time of year to travel towards the border. There are too many traders this time of the year." Riko called out to his girlfriend. They had been dating since they were fifteen. He loved her short black bobbed hair and purple concentric eyes. He knew her magic had its taboos. He knew her family was with a dark guild but she wasn't. They had been travelling northeast towards the Sin/Pergrande border over the past month on a hiking vacation.

"Don't worry baby. We are going that much further. There is an inn up ahead. We can stop for the next couple of nights." She promised him with a look of desire in her eyes. He looked her eyes. He could sit and get lost in them for hours. Purple irises with concentric eyes swirls of green. He would do anything for her.

They made it to the inn two hour later. Checked in took a long hot shower together, made love in the large comfortable bed. Riko loved Serenity with every fiber of his being. He fell asleep staring in her violet and green pools with her warm curves snuggled up against him.

He woke suddenly to a hand on his crotch, stroking him. Unfamiliar lips on his and his neck. A heavier weight than Serenity's lithe little body pressing him into the bed. He was panicking but when he opened his eyes, he saw Serenity's gorgeous purple and green eyes glowing into his. She whispered to him, "Its ok, my love. It's just me. Let me love you this way. I promise I'll make you feel good." Riko shook his head. At that moment, he would do anything for her. He closed his eyes again and let her run her heavy thick calloused hands over his body. He enjoyed her stubbly kisses on his neck and her much heavier weight pushing down on him again. Something in his mind snapped and told him it wasn't Serenity when he felt pressure trying to enter his body. He clinched down and opened his eyes again. He looked around and saw a man on top of him doing all those things to him that he thought his Serenity was doing to him. He requipped one of his pistols and unloaded it into the man trying to rape him. He had blood all over him. His girlfriend emerged from the bathroom just off the room. Her eyes wide at what was happening. "What the fuck Riko!? He paid me good money to fuck you! I can't have you killing off all the Johns. I'll never make enough money to buy the nice things I want, you stupid bastard!" She raged at him. Her eyes starting to glow green. Riko already had his pistol in his hand reloaded with incendiary magic ammo, level the weapon out at his girlfriend he thought he loved and shot her twice. He watched her head explode in a fiery mess and then her chest exploded on the second impact. He was already covered with bloody gore from the man he killed now he was covered in his girlfriend's blood.

"Fucking seith bitch, I'm no one's whore. I'll hunt every lost one of you to rid the world of your foul magic!" Riko seethed as he got up and cleaned himself off and started back to West Nitespring

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Now he just stared at crystal blue eyes that were as blue as the bluest topazes, no hinted of green in them. Long blonde hair in a thick braid over her shoulder, tight tank top that hugged her chest just right and tapered down her small waist. She was covered in that behemoth's blood. He had stopped fighting his own damn coat because it was useless to fight it. He just stood there and watched her walked toward him. Cat tattoo adored her right arm and shoulder, their guild emblem on her left bicep in lavender. When she spoke, her voice was soothing to his inner turmoil, "So gunner, I thought we were on the same side. Guild mates and all?" She asked. He just grunted at her.

"Not a big talker huh? Well you know I'm a seith so you KNOW I can make you talk right?"

He snarled at her. He wasn't going to let that happen again. "Yeah I know what the fuck a seith can do. Trust me. Keep out of my head, blondie. Just because we're guild mates doesn't mean I trust you."

"So I take it you've had one run amuck in your pretty head, huh? Only someone who survives something like that reacts like this. Trust me pretty boy I have better things to do than play in your head. So what happen to the one that play with your soul?" Cat asked as she cocked her head.

Riko refused to entertain this bitch anymore. She was hitting too many buttons all at once. He was already sweating and having tremors in his legs from the panic attack that was starting to be more than he could keep under control. He just grit his teeth and closed his eyes.

"Aww. Don't quit on me now gunner. Who. Fucked. Up. Your. Head. Let me take care of them for you." Cat pushed the man. She hated fucking seiths who took advantage of people and left them in a psychological mess like this man was now. Grammie always taught her that seith magic was too heal and help not harm and hurt the soul. This man's soul and mind was obviously hurting.

"CATRINA! Release Riko NOW! What the hell are you two doing?" Zosia yelled out as she look over the scene in front of her. Dead body in a pool of blood, Riko tangled in his duster, Cat looking at him curiously, as if someone had given her a math problem to solve. Good luck with that one girl. He's one tough nut to crack, Zosia thought.

Riko dropped to his hands and knees. Whatever was holding him let go. He was shaking and taking huge deep breaths trying to quell the anxiety in him. He held back tears memories and a sob. He got up and took off out of the warehouse. He needed to get out of there. He needed anywhere but there. He needed Piper, but he couldn't call her. She was basically in witness protection because of what happened to her and until the Foxes get the Crows under control, he wasn't sure when he would see his sister again.

Zosia shook her head as she watched the requip gunner dart out of here. It wasn't like him to run from anything. She knew who killed the dead man. The two bullet holes told her a lot. She focused back on her newest addition to her Eyes and Ears, her very calm and determined little seith mage. Zosia knew she would be a great asset due to her Bloodhunter and death dealer training, her Boscan heritage help immensely, but what made her deadly were her figure eyes. If she could get a look locked onto your eyes, your soul would open up to her and tell her all your dirty little secrets. Your mind could forget things but never your soul. "Little sunflower, listen to Mama Zosie. Leave that man alone. He's had enough traumas in his life from one seith mage…"

"Who is it, Zos? I'll hunt them down and exact vengeance on them for what they did to that sweet man. His soul is so beautiful even though the things that he said to me were vile. I've seen many people hurt by dark seith. I'm not gonna sit on my hands to watch a guild member hurt like that." Cat seethed.

Zosia shook her head at the blonde, "Cat that boat of revenge has done sailed. He exacted his own revenge the night it happened. He still holds animosity against seith. You and your grandmother are the first seith that have immigrated here that are either not retired or working for a dark guild. There aren't many seiths here anyway. Maybe 20 not counting you and Sylvia."

"So he killed the seith that cracked his soul in two?" Cat asked

"Yes and that's all I'm gonna say on this subject. Let's get you back cleaned up and tell me what you found out before Riko ventilated out friend here." Zosia said as they teleported back to the guildhall.

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Sam returned back to his office. He picked up on a very familiar scent went he closed the door to his office he locked the door. HE casually walked over to his desk as he didn't notice the other presence in the room. If anyone else had seen his office, they won't see anything out of place. Large messy desk with a desktop monitor on it, pictures of him and children that grew up at the guild of the years, large cushy couch that has seen its share of happy and sad times, artwork all over the wall that depicted various kinds of interpretations of foxes. Regular mages wouldn't pick up what Sam could scent in the room, maybe a silly old dragon he mused. "Astrid you can come out of hiding. I know you're in here. I can smell you darling."

A woman wearing a loose flowing cape that covered most of her face and body, materialized out of the shadows. She laugh a low seductive laugh, "Oh Sam, I could never hide from that nose of yours, even in the shadows. How's living among the humans been treating you? I see you've got quite the family here."

Sam smiled slyly at the cloaked woman, "Astrid, my lovely lady of the shadows, why hide your beautiful face from me I know what you look like." He walked up to the woman, placed his warm hands on both sides of her face, and pushed back the hood on her cloak. His smile dropped as he saw her face for the first time in a long time. A growl tore throw him as his lips pulled back to show elongated canines.

Astrid looked away and tried to pull his hands from her face so that she could hide her face again. She knew her face was marred. She knew she had a hideous jagged scar that ran up the right side of her face from her mouth to her hairline at her temple. "Sam stop it!" She couldn't get him to move his hands. Her red eyes broke eye contact with him as she held his wrists and whimpered. She wasn't proud of the scar that adorned her face, but it was a by-product of overthrowing a maniacal shadow mage who has let the power almost erase his humanity.

"Who…did…this?" He snarled. He had lost all control over his human form. He was standing in front of his longtime lover in his full kitsune form. His cropped auburn hair flowed down just past his shoulders, his facial features were still human like but sharper. His eyes were hazel but took more of a predator's shape of the fox's with a vertical pupil. His canines were long. His fox ears on top of his head had laid back in an aggressive manner. His nine tails were out in all their glory twitching. His magic filled the room. He was angry. He wanted revenge. He wanted blood. He wanted to hunt.

Astrid loved Sam. She had loved him for a very long time. She had seen him angry from time to time, but she had never seen him so full of rage that he could not contain his magic. She knew it was crucial for him to keep up appearance as a "human". She knew this little loose knit family he created years ago filled a hole in his heart. "Sam! Stop if anyone sees you like this…" She started but realized that it wasn't calming him dawn anymore. He was past the point of caring if his family knew his true identity. She tried another tactic, "Sam! Sam! I'll tell you if you get yourself under control but not until then."

That seem to do the trick Astrid watched as Sam calm down regain control over his magic and reverted back to his human form. She wrapped her arms around his broad chest and took in his scent of the deep woods. She always felt safe in his arms. She stayed that way for a few moments and then took a deep breath. "Strauss Dresdan. He did this to me. It happened when I overthrew him as guild master in Fiore. His guild the Shadow Stalkers were…are a guild a shadow mages that now just trade in information. We trade in information only. He originally had the guild set up that way but then he turned it into a dark merchant guild, black market shit. Slaves, magical non-magical animal illegal trade, souls, anything you name it, he dealt in it. I didn't help him with anything but the information. I finally put my foot down, Sam, when I found out that he placed a shade inside his daughter to possess her, to make her into a grim reaper like creature. She had seith magic. I watched him rend his wife's soul out with a twisted black dagger. I…I couldn't let him do this anymore. These were people he was supposed to love and protect and cherish, Sam. I was able to fight him but it was a hard fight. His has powerful shadow magic, it's almost matches mine and the voids usually don't bother me, but that dagger Sam. It did this to me. He still has it. It steals the souls of the living. He doesn't need a seith mage to take a soul." She told him her red eyes searched his hazel.

"Astrid lovey I thought you left me all this time. I thought I lost you. No not you. You silly strong woman took over a dark guild. This Dresdan fellow he's here in West Nitespring. He's after one of mine. She has no magical abilities but she has a dormant kitsune spirit within her. I don't know why it never became active when she was a child. It's protected her all these years. I know you just got back to me but can you go to her and keep watch over her?" Sam asked as he hugged his love in his arms for the first time in years. She smells just like he remembered a cool night breeze in the summer.

"I don't mind, love. I came to let you know that Dresdan's daughter is here in West Nitespring as well as his mother-in-law. Sylvia Sinclair is the mom-in-law…"

"Cat is his daughter. Great"

"You know them?"

"Cat and Lex are in the guild now. They both have been great additions. Do I need to worry about them going rogue on me?"

"No. She hates her father maybe more than me. She knows now that he killed her mother. You may a have a wild card as far as what she would do to him, but she's loyal. Sylvia raised her right, even with her training in the Bloodhunters, which, by the way, was forced on her by Strauss as well. Plus implanted her with a shade to slowly take over the girl's body, so I may have to take a number on who get to kill the bastard first."

"I'm not too worried about wild cards. I have plenty of them in the guild already. Walker is my biggest one, but he keeps them in check."

He pulled her close and nuzzled her neck before pulling back and kissing her softly on her lips. She melded into his kiss and allowed him in when he nipped at her lower lip. He deepened the kiss. His hands caressed her back. One hand went up into her into her thick black hair and the other one skimmed down and squeezed her butt. He let out a growl and she returned one.

"Well, well, well, this is all hot and steamy knowing that my guild master has wonderful taste in women but boss we have a teensy problem…" Zosia said as she plopped a blonde seith mage on the couch, who sat there with her arms crossed and glared at the tall greenette.

Sam pulled back from Astrid, rested his forehead on hers, and mumbled, "Wild cards…"

"Hello Zosia, why are you here with Cat? And why is there a problem?" Sam asked in a tired voice.

"Really Sam? Do I need to spell it out for you? Cat is a seith mage. Who in our guild has a problem with seith mages? Three guesses and the first two don't count and he has a purple mohawk." Zosia lead.

Sam let out a heavy sigh, "Riko…dammit what did he do now?"

"Well he tried to give our kitten here a new hole in her head, but she had somehow tied him up with his own duster. I interfered with their game and he took off like a bat outta hell." The greenette informed him.

"Get Walker to find him and bring him in." Sam said.

Cat watched the conversation take place but her gaze moved over to the black haired woman with the red eyes and scar on her face. She knew who it was as soon as she set eyes on her, Astrid Dresdan. The woman had be instrumental in her being able to escape from her father and get back to Bosco before Grendace thought she abandoned the Bloodhunters, putting Lex in danger. Astrid and her father may share the same last name but they were not related in any way. Astrid was from Sin. Strauss was from Bosco. Worlds apart, just a coincidence in names. Cat always got a sense of Astrid being older that what she looked. The same feeling she got from Sam. She never once looked at either of their souls out of respect. "Astrid, I never got the chance to say thank you for getting me away from my father…"

Astrid shifted her attention over to the blonde on the couch, "Catrina, I'm so glad that you were able to get away from that monster."

Cat noticed a nasty scar on her face that wasn't there before and a chill went through her body, "Astrid tell me you didn't get that scar from my father because of what you did for me?" Cat said with a tight voice that threatened violence against the man that had given her half of her DNA profile.

Astrid didn't answer and only broke eye contact and brought her attention back to Sam. The non-answer was all the information that Cat needed to hunt her father down. She just needed to figure out where the hell he was. "Master, I wish to have a sabbatical to look for my father in Fiore…" She started.

Sam just shook his head, "Cat there is no need for that. You father is here in West Nitespring. He is the leader of the 12 Crows…"

"Good I don't have to leave Grammie or Lex. Permission to kill the fucking bastard on site, because I want to rip his goddamn soul out and then shred it in a million pieces for all the atrocities that he has done to not just myself and my family but to my clan. He can't be allowed to take another breath. He has to pay by the law of my clan. Clan Felernas has laws for those that do harm to its own kin." Cat informed her guild master with the same tight voice before she promptly got up and left the office.

Sam just shook his head at no one then looked at Astrid and heavily sighed. He was going to have his hands full. He had a gunner on the run that was probably going to try and kill his only seith mage. His only seith mage took off with a murderous look on her face, and he had a non-magical member that was the sister of the loose gunner half a world away in a world of dragons.

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Strauss stood looking out the giant glass window in his high-rise suite in downtown West Nitespring. It over looked the harbor. The ships came and went just like the ebb and flow of the tides. Hands clasped behind his back as he watched the ships. He was musing on how he was going to get his brilliant chemist out of Magnolia from her father and back to West Nitespring without rousing the suspicion of the mage guild she frequented there. His intel had told him that she befriended some powerful mages. He thought about pulling her through the voids with his shadows like he did his wife and daughter but decided against it because a non-mage wouldn't survive it.

As he stood there deep in thought, a knock came to his door interrupting his thoughts. He frowned at the interruption. "This better be important." He warned in a flat tone.

A short round man, who he kept as an assistant, entered the room, "I apologize, sir for interrupting you, but a message came for you from the warehouse district. Bronx, your ice make mage, is dead. Killed by one of the Foxes gunner mages but the seith mages that found his body said that his soul had been taken by another seith, sir." The man relayed.

Strauss stood and digested the information. He didn't particularly care for the ice wizard. He thought he was disgusting, but having his soul taken by a seith mage was problematic. "Put a hit out on the Foxes gunner mages and find out what seith mage took his soul. Bring me that seith."

"Yes, Sir."

Strauss went back to watching the harbor. He now had to contend with his daughter, who unexpected showed up in West Nitespring, and now harvesting souls. "That's so unlike you daisy." He said to no one. "I wonder what else your grandmother has taught you."


	9. The Fox and the Dragon

The Fox and the Dragon

 _"Dragons and legends...It would have been difficult for any man not to want to fight beside a dragon."_

 _― Patricia Briggs, Dragon Blood_

"Daddy, when can I go see the fox lady again? I really liked her. She was nice and smelled nice too. Her snake was funny too. I wanna play with him. When daddy?" Ila asked her father, Laxus while he was getting her tucked into bed at their home outside Magnolia. He growled a little at the thought of his precious daughter being anywhere near that woman. He tolerated her presence at the guild only because she was in a wizard's guild in Sin. He did speak with her Guild Master, Sam Saxe, who reassured him that she was not asking Fairy Tail for protection, only Wi-Fi service. The auburn haired man laughed at the reason Piper wound up at the Magnolia mage guild. Sam had explained to Laxus the reason Piper was sent to Fiore in the first place. It wasn't the first or going to the be the last time Fairy Tail was a 'hide-away' for wayward wizards, even if she was only using the Wi-Fi.

Ila's little growls and nuzzles brought him out of his thoughts. She hugged the big man. She was his weakness. She had his blonde hair and her Dad's lavender eyes. She also had her dad's calmer disposition. She was a unique little girl. At the age of 6-years-old, she was a dragon slayer but also showing the beginnings of mindbender magic. Kaleb had made her a dainty choker matching his own to help control her fluctuation of magic. Laxus tickled her and growled more while his daughter laughed and cackled, "Stop Daddy! It tickles!" She continued to laugh.

As she laughed Laxus asked his daughter through their laughter, "Why does a dragon want to play with a fox, hmmm? A dragon could eat a little fox in one bit."

Ila giggled and tried to tickled her daddy back but the size difference and the wiggling of a six year old didn't deter Ila from saying something that made Laxus think about Piper's situation, "But daddy the fox is lonely. Uncle Bixy accidentally scared her, and she likes a gray snowman. Daddy how can snow be gray? I thought it was white."

Laxus let out a big sigh, "I think my little dragon is worrying about things that little dragons shouldn't worry about. Yes snow is white not gray. And Uncle Bixy didn't mean to scare her. Now give me nuzzles and kisses and go to sleep and dream of happy hatchling things."

"Ok daddy but I want to play with Flick too. He's fun." The little blonde said and she kisses her daddy and snuggled into her bed with her stuffed animals.

Laxus turned off the light and went downstairs to find his mate on the couch drink tea and looking at his tablet. He could see the tell tell grin on his face. "I'm not even going to ask because you already know, Dad." Laxus half-heartedly growled. "She's 6. How am I supposed to answer those questions about foxes and gray snowmen?" he sighed as he grabbed a beer from the fridge, walked over, and plopped next to Kaleb.

Kaleb put the tablet down and kisses his mate on the cheek, "That's exactly the problem, she's 6 and is able to reached into someone mind but not able to understand what she sees. Ila can really only see imagery right now anyway. Whereas I have been doing it for a lot longer and I am a Wizard Saint, I can see, and will have Bix confirm this; there is more to your guest at the guildhall than we originally thought. Ila was only able to see, do, and talk to Piper because I helped her. As far as the gray snowman, think about it Laxus. Who in your guild would be a gray snowman to a 6-year-old?"

Laxus was not in the mood to deal with the mental workings of a grown ass woman's mind and why Ila seen a gray snowman. He just growled and grumbled as he drank his beer. He knew the woman would be trouble when he first met her the first day but there was something that wafted over him that calmed his inner dragon and made his let her keep coming to the guild. "Kaleb, why would she have a calming effect over my inner dragon? I refuse to think about snowmen. I feel…I dunno…calm towards her…nothing romantic of course, but there is just this…calming presence about her. I've seen it happen with the other dragon slayers in the guild too. Natsu and Gajeel don't fight so much. Wendy is still Wendy and Cobra actual tolerates the woman being within conversation distance of him and lets her call him Erik, only Lucy is allowed to do that…"

"Yes, that's all your 'dragon' slayers, dear…" Kaleb leading him. He hated when his mate did this. Laxus wasn't stupid. He was a smart strategist on the battlefield. He could detect the strength and weaknesses of his foes and use his guild to exploit those weaknesses and diminish those strengths, but his own weakness and his mate's strength was subtleness. He didn't have any other dragon slayers in Fairy Tail. White Sea had Cristoff and Emzadi, and then the twin dragon slayers in Sabertooth. He looked over at Kaleb who held a smirk on his face. "What? I don't have any…more…slayers…" like a light bulb that turned on with his own lightening, "…Fullbuster…gray snowman…DEVIL slayer…No Kaleb! This is not my problem."

Kaleb laughed and felt a bit sorry for his husband of seven years, but he was a bit slow on the uptake of personal issues in his guild. His guild, White Sea, was more open with relationships and everything that came with it. Fiore was prudish when it came to matters of relationships and sex. "No Laxus it normally isn't your problem when two mages decide to engage in a relationship, but this is different," Kaleb started then his toned turned serious, "The reason why this is your, our, problem is you have a devil slayer that is starting to develop strong emotions for a non-magical human. A non-magical human who is not even from Fiore or Bosco, I might add. The reason Ms. Hatchet is so calm to you dragon slayer is she has magic infused in her and on her. It's an ancient magic similar to your dragon magic. It reminds me of Nurem's magic, but not quite. With Ila going on and on about foxes, I'm suspecting that Ms. Hatchet is either been possess by, infused with or possibly marked by a kitsune. It would explain all the dragon slayer behavior and the fox things Ila is talking about and why she's drawn to her. That's not our issue. The issue is of your devil slayer opens his magic up to her in an intimate moment then the demon that shares his soul will drive her insane and possibly kill her. If that happens, you and I will have a pissed off kitsune spirit or actual kitsune here wreaking havoc upon our family and guilds. If I had a choice between a raging dragon or the wrath of a kitsune, I would take the raging dragon any day because you my dear husband will eventually calm down. The wrath of a kitsune, if my research is correct, is a long slow burn."

Laxus absorbed and processed what Kaleb had told him. He was right a raging dragon would eventually calm down, but he knew nothing of kit-whatever thing. If their wrath was long and slow burning he didn't want that for his family. He thought of his little hatchling. "Fine so what do I need to do to keep ice balls from fox girl? Kick her out of the guild? I can't actually send her back to Sin. I spoke with her guild master. She was sent here to live with her father while they settled things down where they are located. The Thunder Legion is off on a long mission, Team Nastu is on a close by mission that is taking longer than expected, Erza is sick for some reason…I have a literal fox in the hen house. I need another beer." He growled, ran his hands through his hair and got up to go to the fridge for a cold long neck.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Mt. Hokabe was warmer this time of the year. That meant least snowfall, warmer temperatures. Anywhere else that meant t-shirt shorts lemonade a summer thunderstorm, on the mountain range that meant Lucy didn't have to wear five layers of clothing. She could get away with three layers of clothing and a good pair of boots. The wind wasn't as piercing this time of the year. Of course, for the boys it didn't matter how cold it was, Gray walked around with no clothes on most of the time and Natsu just increased his body temperature.

Lucy yelled over the howling bursts of wind, "Gray put some pants on or your dick is gonna freeze off and the ladies of Magnolia will be in mourning!"

"Huh? Oh...shit! Where are my pants?" Gray asked as they hit him in the face. Lucy picked them up a few hundred feet back. He was lost in thought he was thinking about how he was going to ask Piper out when they returned from this stupid job that was taking too long. He knew she was going out on a date with Bix so how in the hell was he gonna up his game to outdo the Boscan who was a level above him in the playboy department. He was so lost in his thoughts he almost missed his demon talking to him.

 _Oy! Dipshit! Stop thinking about the lovely and start payin attention to yer surroundins. There are two demons up ahead. I think they may have possessed the vulcans you guys are after, we won't know until you find them._

"Lucy! Natsu! Up ahead there are the Vulcans we are after but two of them may be possessed by demons." Gray warned his teammates.

They made their way up the trail and as they round what felt like the hundredth corner, they saw tracks that were freshly made that led into a cave. They crept up onto the cave and sure enough in the cave were about ten large Vulcan and two of them were larger than the rest and were looking a bit different from the rest. Gray was able to determine that those two were the possessed.

"The two bigger uglier ones are possessed I'll handle those. You two take the others. Natsu, try not to cave in the cave. Lucy and I would like to get back to Magnolia in one piece." Gray planned.

"I know why Luce wants to get back to Magnolia. She's got a snake to charm. What are you going to do? Keep pining over a certain purple hair vixen?" Natsu teased.

"Shut the fuck up you pink hair fireball!" Gray hissed.

Lucy chimed in, "Seriously Gray, just ask the girl out. You've been horrible and Natsu isn't going to stop."

Gray didn't even answer he had already let the demon part of his soul come to the surface. The black marking on the right side of his body showing, his shirt already gone, his right eye red and his hair flowing up and back, he glared at both his partners and rushed the bigger Vulcans while he heard Natsu yelling his infamous line and Lucy pulled out her bull spirit with matching spirit dress form.

He rushed the bigger Vulcans and used his demon slayer ice magic to cage one and engage the other with a large broad sword. He squared off with the ugly Vulcan. He went in with a thrust but the Vulcan was quick because of the jump demon that possessed it. His own demon adjusted for the quickness. They circled each other; the Vulcan lunged for him; he dodged it easily. Gray came from the left with an upper slash and cleaved the Vulcan in half, leaving the other demon in the cage. He turned to face the caged demon only to see that that demon was no longer in that cage. He kept his sword at the ready looking around the area for it. He listened, Natsu and Lucy were holding their own against the regular ones.

"Gray…Gray…come here my love…" the voice carried through the resonance of battle ranging behind him in the cave.

"Huh? What the fuck…" Gray said aloud as he followed the sound of the familiar voice. He had become entrance by it.

"Oh Gray…I love you…come over here to me so we can be together…" the voice said. As Gray came into view, he saw the face the purple hair and yellow citrine eyes that haunted his dreams at night, Piper. She was naked standing there her arms reaching for him. "…Gray…I need you, my love…" she continued.

Gray walked up to Piper. He kept her at arm's length, still confused. "How are you here? In this cave, naked and not freezing?" He looked her up and down. Hairs rising on the neck, he looked into her eyes almost getting lost in there before he felt the burning sensation in left shoulder, but he was too enchanted by Piper. Piper wouldn't hurt him.

 _Dammit, boy! This is a fuckin' succubus! Snap out of it or I'm gonna take over completely and kill the bitch! That's not our Piper, ye idiot! Kill her! She's got a dagger in ye shoulder!_

Gray snapped back to reality. The illusion faded to large Vulcan again that he was searching for. He blasted it with his devil slayer ice and froze it solid then made an ice hammer and shattered it into a million pieces. His shoulder burned and he was unable to move his right arm without severe pain. He felt the warm trickles of blood running down his arms and chest. The dagger had penetrated high in shoulder joint. There was a laceration that extended down into his pec. He knew he was going to need stitches. He put his left hand over the gash and worked his way back to Lucy and Natsu. He found his teammates finishing the last Vulcan. Lucy seen him first and ran over to him "Gray! What happened? Oh my god that's deep." She called out Virgo for first aid supplies. Lucy and Virgo were able to bandage him up and slow the bleeding down with pressure, but he still needed stitches and Wendy. They were two days from Magnolia. "Princess, he should be fine until you reach the guild hall. The bleeding will slow down."

"Lucy, I can freeze my wound if it's that bad." Gray added.

Natsu smelled the blood in the air. "What the fuck icicle? Forget how to fight a damn demon or two?"

"Shut it Natsu. One was a fucking succubus with illusions."

"Ahh. So that means she tricked you into thinking that she was someone you wanted naked didn't she?" Natsu grinned at his best friend.

"Always brutal and to the point aren't you?" Gray sighed. He was so done fighting. He felt a sudden exhaustion. Maybe it's from the blood loss. He did lose quite a bit from that wound in his shoulder. He held his shoulder and gritted his teeth. "We need to go."

"Sure Gray and you can fill me and Luce in on this lady that has you preoccupied so much so that a succubus tricked you briefly. It will make a great camp fire story. And Luce…we can talk about your problem as well…" Natsu said, as he help Gray get steady.

They managed to get out of the higher elevation to the more temperate climate. Lucy had Virgo set up camp with one tent. They were going to share it because the temperature may be warmer but it was still a balmy 40 degrees outside and still very windy. The wind made it unsafe for an actual campfire, so they used the next warmest thing, Natsu. They made Natsu lay in the middle and he increased his body temperature to a more tolerable one.

Natsu stretched out under the blanket with his hands behind his head. Lucy had curled up on her side and cuddled up to Natsu. She liked the warmth. Gray Laid on his back on the other side. His left shoulder ached. He had made an ice pack that molded to his wound to help ease the ache in it but it still had a burning sensation in it. He normally didn't sleep this close to Natsu but for some reason he was shivering and the heat felt good on him.

Natsu took a deep breath and grinned, "So since I have a captive audience thanks to Mother Nature. I think I'll start with the easier of you, Lucy. Luce, you have a dragon problem with a particularly snarky slayer, am I right?"

"Natsu, why do we have to do this now? You're getting worse than Mirajane. You're becoming a meddler." Lucy groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Your chest hurts worse doesn't it? The further we have gotten away from Magnolia and the longer we have been away. You feel like, well, shit and fight like shit. Don't lie. I saw it up there on the mountain. You're usually pretty on top of things and those Vulcans shouldn't have been a problem with Taurus out." Natsu said in a matter of fact way.

Lucy just groaned and flipped over on her other side putting her back to the fire dragon slayer. "And what would the great fire slayer king want his little peasant to do about it, huh? It's not like it was me who broke up with him. He broke it off with me IN A TEXT. He won't talk to me or anything. We haven't even done anything remotely intimate other than make out once. So tell me oh great knowing fire slayer king what am I to fucking do about it, hmmm? Walk up and grab him by his balls and drag him home with me like a cave woman?" Lucy seethed at pink haired mage.

Natsu just smiled and said, "You said it not me and your welcome, your king is grateful for your servitude. Although I have heard Bixlow talk about grabbing dragons by the balls before about something not sure…Who knows its Bix, dude's crazy." Natsu just rolled with the sarcasm that Lucy was serving up on him. He knew she was irritated at him, at Erik, at the pain she was feeling. He just nudged her in the right direction. Sometimes a dragon slayer just needed a firm hand to guide them where they needed to be or a fist in the face.

"Will you two shut up. I feel like shit over here. I'm feel like I'm freezing to death over here. Natsu can you make it hotter?" Gray said through chattering teeth. He had his arms wrapped around himself trying to make himself warmer. He was covered in sweat. Lucy sat up and looked over Natsu at Gray. She saw he was cover in a sheen of sweat. She reached over and felt his forehead. He was burning up.

"Gray you're burning up! Cool yourself down. Natsu help me change his bandages." Lucy said urgently.

Natsu sat up Gray as Lucy quickly removed the saturated bandages. The bandages weren't soaked in blood like she was expecting but had a sickly greenish drainage to it. The wound that she and Virgo had thoroughly cleansed was red and inflamed on the wound edges but the center of the laceration was black and oozing the green drainage. It smelled horrible. Both Natsu and Lucy made a face over the smell of rotting flesh. Gray was very pale everywhere else and hot to the touch. Lucy felt his pulse on his right arm and it was faint and was unable to feel one on his left arm. He was quickly losing his battle with whatever was afflicting him.

"Natsu what do we do? We are gonna lose Gray to I don't know what. We need to get him to Wendy but we are so far out, I don't think he will make it. What are we gonna do!" Lucy was starting panic over the thought of losing Gray. He was like her brother. She couldn't stand the thought of losing him. She looked over at Natsu with tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

Natsu was at a loss. He didn't know what was afflicting his buddy. He didn't know how to help him. He knew whatever it was it smelled horrendous and like sulfur and rotten meat. He knew Lucy could smell the odor to a degree but not on the level his dragon senses could. He could also hear Gray's heart rate going faster and fainter. He looked at Lucy with her tears glistening in her eyes. He never felt so helpless.

Gray felt so cold. He could get warm. He felt Lucy's hand on his head and her say something about ime being hot, but everything was starting to sound muffled from there. He barely felt Natsu sit him up a bit so his bandages could be looked at, but that was the last thing he remembered.

 _Ye've been poisoned by that succubus bitch, boy. Yer so weak from it, I need to take over control of yer body. Think ye can let me do this time to save our hide? No response? I'll take it as a yes then._

Natsu felt Gray's magic stirring in him. He watched the familiar devil slayer magic take over his limp friend's body. The marking grew further than they normally did. The blackness covered almost Gray's entire torso and both his eyes were red. Gray sat up and look at Natsu and then over at Lucy. In an unfamiliar voice that the two didn't recognize from their friends body, "Oi! This boy is dying. We need to git 'im out of 'ere and back to Magnolia for the little blue haired dragoness and the poison dragon to heal him. I can keep him alive for a little while longer, but he's been poisoned by a succubus. Nasty bitch from the lower regions of hell. That's why the poison is spreading so quickly." Gray said in a matter of fact voice.

"Who the hell are you? What happened to Gray?" Lucy demanded. She had her hand on her keys ready to defend them. Natsu held his hand out to stop her from summoning any spirits. "Luce, it's ok. I think this is the demon that inhabits Gray and gives him his devil slayer's magic, like the dragon inside me and I guess my demon." The fire slayer explained.

"Well look whose payin' attention, Mr. END 'imself. If me roomey 'ere had time to chat I would love to but I need to git 'im outta 'ere. Blondie, I need a key, not one of your golden ones. Gimme your house key…that will work, and a silver ring. Whose has a silver ring?" Gray said in a deeper than normal voice. Natsu and Lucy looked at Gray as if the being that shared his body should have known that Gray wore one on his middle finger. "Oh right, he wears one. OK I got everything I need. Now END shield Blondie there. This won't be pretty."

Gray quickly drew a summoning circle, took a deep breath and prayed to whatever god or goddess would listen to a Duke of Hell because his roomy needed it, "Te accerso Seir iter demonem inferni. Veni serve unus ex loco superior duces pro regibus in infernum." Nothing happened at first, then the air in the tent started to swirl. The air swirled with a nice breeze within the tent as if it knew who had summoned it. A fog started to appear. Natsu pulled Lucy closer and put himself between the fog and her to shield her. After a few minutes, a man on a horse appeared in their tent. The man dismounted off the horse and sent the horse away to wherever they had be summoned from.

The handsome man looked around the tent. He saw a young man that housed the demon END shielding a blonde woman. He looked long and hard at the blonde woman. He could feel her celestial magic and knew she didn't summon him. He turned his back to the couple and faced a rather different sight. Another young man covered almost completely in a demon's markings. The man radiated the power of a duke of the Underworld. "Ah so you must be my summoner." The man said in a silky smooth voice as he bowed. He knew it was a duke but not sure which one. "And which Duke of Hell requires my assistance?" He said with as he brandished a smirk towards Gray.

Gray shook his head. He felt his body growing weaker. "Shut it with the pleasantries, Seir. I need you to get us to the Fairy Tail guildhall ASAP, before my host's body bites the dust because some succubitch poisoned him." Gray gritted out as he held his injured shoulder.

"Ah as you wish Duke Astaroth. I would recognize your gruffness anywhere." Seir said as he bowed.

For Natsu and Lucy, the air in the room started to swirl again but this time it was including them in the vortex. Natsu kept hold of Lucy never letting her go because instincts told him not to do it. His dragon and his demon both telling him to protect her in this demonic magical cyclone. The fog rolled back into the tent and washed over everyone in the tent. For a split second or two he heard the whispers of power in his ears about how he would be more powerful than Laxus or Erza if he would let his demon magic loose on the world. He didn't listen to them and held tight to Lucy.

Lucy held a firm grip on Natsu as she felt the whirlwind engulf them. Once the fog overcame them both, she started hearing voice whispering about how she wasn't good enough to be a dragon slayer's mate. That was the real reason Erik didn't want her. She wasn't worthy of him. She didn't believe them and continued her death grip on Natsu.

When the fog faded away and the air subsided, they stood in the middle of Fairy Tail. Their guild mates frozen in whatever activity they were doing staring at them. Mirajane was the first one to recognize what was happening, "Someone find Wendy and someone get Porlyursica. Get Laxus here NOW!" She sprinted over to the trio that was standing in the middle of the guildhall. She grabbed Gray first since he was already down on one knee holding his shoulder. People scrambled to offer aid in any form, but quickly realized that Natsu and Lucy weren't injured merely bewildered about how they arrived to the guild hall.

Once Mira had Gray settled on an infirmary cot and undressed the wounds, she allowed one of her Satan souls to bubble to the surface to speak to the demon that was keeping her guild mate alive. She only had a subtle change in her appearance. Her eyes were no longer her baby blues but deep red. Her voice stayed the same as she spoke, "Duke Astaroth, how long have you been hiding in this mortals body? I sensed his demonic power and his ability to slay our kind but I never would have guess it was you. You have been missing for quite some time. It was also surprising to have Seir show up unexpected with the three of you as well."

"Ah Sitri, my old friend. I was hoping I would get to talk to you again one day. Do you have the sky dragoness and poison dragon coming? I've been poisoned by a succubus. His body can't process the poison like yours. I'm bound to his soul only. I'm only able to maintain control of his body because he loss conciseness a while ago. He getting weaker, Sitri. If he dies then I die."

Before Mirajane could respond, Wendy burst through the door, "Gray! What happened Mira?" The bluenette started working her magic over the festering wound on his right shoulder and pec. It improved some but not to her liking. She pushed as much healing magic into him as she could to stabilize him but Gray was not improving much. "Mira I can't get it to heal like I normally can. I can sense some kind of toxin running through him but it won't respond to my healing magic. I've never felt toxins like this. Do you know what it is?"

"He told me he was attacked by a succubus Wendy. We need Erik to help with an antidote. The problem is he left yesterday for a month long job." Mira explained with a concerned look on her face.

Wendy thought about the condition of her friend. He had a toxin or a poison in him. Cobra wasn't near for them to cure it. "Mira I'll be right back I have an idea." Wendy left the infirmary. She past Natsu and Lucy on her way down the stairs. She waved at them and told them to sit with Gray and that she would be back soon. She pushed through the doors and was a half a block away when she heard a familiar lightning strike nearby. She knew Gray was in good hands. She just needed help with the poison and knew of only one other person in town who could hopefully help her.


	10. The Fox and the Devil

The Fox and the Devil

 _Do not be dismayed to learn there is a bit of the devil in you. There is a bit of the devil in us all. -ARTHUR BYRON COVER, Night of the Living Rerun_

"Zosie is there anyway Sam will let you come visit me? I miss my favorite poison mage." Piper laughed as she mockingly whined on the phone.

"Oh sweetie I wish I could come see you in person. I miss our little chats. Tell me about these Fiorian men. Are they as hot as the men here in Sin?" Zosia asked with a throaty laugh. Piper laughed with her friend. She knew her friend was a lusty woman. She was a former Joyan succubus. She grew up with a tribe that served a Joyan War Queen. They performed rituals and ceremonies that called forth succubi from the depths of the underworld to bestow chosen members of the tribes the sacred duties as a tribal succubus. Zosia wouldn't talk about to Piper but something had happened that had gotten her excommunicated from her tribe and her country when she was 20 years old.

Piper was able to skirt around her friend's question about the men in Fiore and focus on other things like her brother when she heard a sound she was getting familiar with on normal sunshiny days, a loud crack of thunder near where Fairy Tail was located. "Is it raining there, sweetie?" Zosia asked.

"No it's actually a nice bright sunny day for the start of summer. That, Zosia, was the local guilds master Laxus Dreyar arriving at the guildhall. He's a lightening dragon slayer. Annnd before you ask you horny woman, he's married to the guild master of the White Seas out of Bosco. They have the cutest little girl, too." Piper eased her friend's anxiety and sensuality.

"She must be one lucky woman…" Zosia started to ramble before Piper interrupted her because she heard frantic knocking on her door.

"One sec Zosie. Someone is at my door." Piper told her friend.

Wendy reached the Hatchet-Pascale residence in no time using her dragon force. It gave her that boost to her speed making her a fuchsia haired rocket. She normally kept her cool when her teammates or guild mates were injured. Gray's physical wound would have been nothing for her to heal, but he had a succubus's poison in him that she had no experience with to combat it. Cobra was gone on a month long mission and if he didn't want found; he wasn't found. Wendy's emotions were running a bit high at the moment. She knew that Piper worked with poison and toxins. She was Wendy's ace in the hole. She knocked on the door in a frenzied manner because she was still in her dragon force.

Piper opened the door to a wild-eyed pink haired woman. It didn't dawn on her for a second who she was looking at. "Wendy? What's going on, chica?"

Without missing a beat, "Piper! We need you at the guild! Gray's been injured. I've healed his physical wounds but he's been poisoned by a succubus and I can't treat that. I figured you could help me…" Wendy spilled it all out in one breath.

Piper got the jest of the situation. Gray injured and poisoned by a succubus. "Zosie how fast can you get here? There is a guild mage poisoned by a succubus and they can't treat it."

"Uhh…honestly sweetie probably twelve hours that's pushing myself. You are practically on the other side of the world from Sin. Let me talk to Sam...Remember the basic first aid I taught you that will give you until I get there." Zosia hung up.

Piper put her sneakers on and followed Wendy to the guildhall. Wendy's dragon force had subsided the young woman's hair was back to the deep blue that Piper was used to seeing. Wendy filled her in on what had happened to Natsu Lucy and Gray. "Wendy that sounds terrifying. And all of you mages just go on these dangerous jobs like this? Your guild fought in the Alvarez War. I'm grateful that you had the courage to stand up to the evil forces that had happened here in Fiore. Helping you all in any way will be my honor to do so. I have a Joyan succubus she is going to try to get here but it's going to take her about twelve hours of travel time as a teleport mage. Is there any way someone can gather dandelions nettle and green tea."

"I'm grateful that you're able to help us Piper. I've never encountered a succubus before. I've been training with another dragon slayer out of Bosco to improve my healing but Cris hasn't talk about poisons or at least succubus poisons yet. Usually Cobra takes care of it since he's a poison dragon slayer." Wendy explained.

The two continued to talk as they quickly walked to the guildhall. Once inside many faces turned to both women, looking at them with hope. Hope that they could save the devil slayer upstairs. Wendy saw Droy sitting next to Jet as usual, she barked out orders for the herbs that Piper required. The two mages took off out of the guild in search of them. Piper went behind the bar that was curiously absent one platinum haired bar tender. It didn't matter to Piper she knew where Mira kept the green tea. Wendy went on ahead of her upstairs while she prepared a metal carafe of water and one insulated cup. She waited for the two mages that ran off to return. She knew it would take them long. Droy was a green mage would probably grow the herbs she needed and send them to her via the speed mage. She pulled out a mortar and pestle.

Piper waited maybe ten minutes before Jet showed up with an abundance of the herbs she needed. She thanked the speed mage with a genuine smile. She carefully placed the herb on the tray she had made. Metal carafe, mortar and pestle, herbs, then made her way upstairs to the infirmary.

The scene that she witnessed when she entered the infirmary was overwhelming. The emotions hit her like a tidal wave. The anxiety was the worst. The dragon slayers that were present were the first to notice her arrival. Laxus was with his mate the furthest away. She heard him growl at her. She just ignored him. She had gotten used to his gruff and grumpy mannerisms. Kaleb smiled at her and put her at ease. She did feel a slight brush to her mind when she was around the mindbender. Bix had told her about his magic and not to worry about it. Natsu stood at the foot of the bed running his hands through his hair nervously, Lucy and Mira on one side of the bed. Mira comforting the blonde while Wendy was on the other pushing her magic into Gray. He stole her breath as she seen the blackness that was almost fully covering his body. She didn't feel fear. She felt the overwhelming need to save him. She navigated her way to the side of the bed the blondes were on. She asked Lucy to find her a stand to put her tray on while handing Natsu the metal carafe to boil the water in it. When he had the water steaming hot, he placed it back on the tray. Piper handed him the nettles and dandelions, and instructed him to dry the herbs to a dry brittleness. He handed them back to her. She placed them into the mortar and pestle and created the crushed leaves to make tea with.

Piper was letting the tea steep when she heard another familiar growl from the corner. "Is there a problem, Master Laxus?" was the only thing she could say.

"Yeah, I have a mage dying and you're making fucking tea! Care to explain why you did bring crumpets?" Laxus growled.

Piper's yellow eyes met the steel blue of the guild masters. She took a deep breath and put on her biggest smile, "Master Dreyar, how many succubi do you know? Do you know the basic first aid treatment for a succubus's bite? If you know all of this then I'll take my 'tea' and go find my crumpets and finished what's left of my evening with my papas. I don't have any obligations to this guild as you have pointed out to me several times over the past few weeks. In the meanwhile, I'll call my best friend who is a Joyan succubus and can reverse this, to tell her she can stay in Sin." Piper finished in a cheery voice. She poured a cup of tea and handed it to Mirajane to help Gray sip it.

Piper walked over to the enraged lightening dragon slayer. She felt this calmness to her. She felt an inner guide telling her to go to him and comfort him. She had never felt this before. She walked right up to the huge man who towered over her. She only came up to his chest. She felt no fear no panic, only the desire to calm him. She placed a hand on his forearm, looked at the mindbender and got a silent nod. She pulled Laxus's face down to her face level so she could look him in the eyes, "I would never harm him, or anyone else in this guild." She stretched up on her tippy toes and placed a small kiss on the bulging vein that was pulsing there. She held him like that until she felt the giant blond relax and she let him go and he resumed his normal stature. Piper then turned and returned back to Gray's bedside. No one said a word at what just happened.

 _Laxus, I told you kitsune magic is at work here. I've never seen you go from an almost murderous rage to calm that quick. I'm putting some calls in. I have someone that needs to meet her._

 _Whatever Kaleb. I'm just confused by everything. Do what you think is necessary. I just don't want one of my mages hurt. She's not either of our responsibilities._

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West Nitespring's upper class neighbor sat a beautiful villa style 2-story style home with brown stucco siding with traditional tiled roofing. It had the rote iron railing and fencing. Flagstone walkways up to the home and native plants with red and orange blooms lined it. The door was a massive solid oak door with glass panels in the middle. The Sinclair's called this place home for the past 25 years. Opal and Frank Sinclair moved here before the seith banned in Bosco. They moved to Pelerno before their clan was destroyed by Strauss Dresdan. They had raised their late in life son Nick Sinclair here in West Nitespring as a Boscan. He may have never enjoyed the Grass Sea but he did enjoy the ocean that was 200 feet from the back deck of their gorgeous home.

Opal and Frank Sinclair were in their 60's now, and they laid in there long time bed in West Nitespring. Opal normal slept well, but not this night. Opal tossed and turned in the big bed she shared with her long time husband. Frank was awoken because he took and elbow to his ribs. He sat up and saw his lovely wife's silver locks sweat soaked. She was wrapped up in the sheets. Her face twisted up in a frightful expression. He saw this exact expression twice. Both times, they had to move. Both times, they avoided tragedy. "Opal…Opal, my love wake up. Tell me what you see." He gently prodded her to reality.

"Nooo…mmm…Fraaank…Frank!" Opal mumbled til she realized she was fully awake. She dove into her husband's arms and buried her face in his chest. She trembled when she got these dreams.

He held her until she collected her thoughts and calmed herself. He waited. He never pushed her to talk. She would talk when she was ready. "Frank we need to leave, soon. West Nitespring is about to be engulfed in a war that we will not survive if we stay, especially, Nicky." She tried to hold a sob in as her son's name passed her lips. "I need to talk to Sylvia." She said abruptly. She hurriedly got out of their bed, gathered her robe, and moved like a ghost to her sister's room.

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Cat tracked her prey like her nickname's namesake. She watched her purple mohawked mouse from a distance, listened to Tito tell her important details about what he was doing from a closer vantage point. She'd done this surveillance many times before when she was working for the Steel Council, before they made her a Bloodhunter. She hadn't seen him for about a week since their bloody meeting in the warehouse district when he pull a gun on her and threatened to end her there just for being a seith mage. She looked at his soul now. It was very dull and dim. She worried. Souls that dimmed and faded like that were hard to get back. _Momma he's just sorta eating some fries. The basket is still mostly full. He needs a friend. Would you come over here and talk to him._ Her little soul asked. Tito had been with her since she was about six years old. She's had a few others here and there throughout her life but they always moved on. He always remained with her. Grammie told her he was her guardian and that's why he never moved on. This was the first time he worried about someone he watched up close for her and asked to join them.

She got up from the table she always sat at in the corner and walked over the gunner mage. She plopped herself down across from him, stole a fry with some ketchup and asked, "What's got you so down, Charlie Brown?" then popped the fry in her mouth with a warm smile on her face.

Riko was deep in his thoughts. He was normally aware of his surroundings and knew when anyone approached him, but again this blonde woman moved with the gracefulness and silence of a cat that stalked its prey on the savannahs in the north near Pergrande. He never heard her or sensed her, but then again he wasn't really there in West Nitespring mentally. The loop of what happened with Serenity was playing. So when she joined him he barely noticed. He looked up at the blonde and just grunted at her. He didn't have the energy to deal with her. He didn't want to talk to her. Her magic was disgusting to him. He just hung his head and toyed with a fry.

Cat watched the man pull further into his shell. She also smelled the alcohol on him, the lack of personal hygiene. He has a few days growth of beard, the strip of purple on his head was greasy looking. Cat knew depression and PTSD when she saw it. She dealt with it personally. Her friends and herself suffered from it because of what happened to them while Grendace was Captain of the Bloodhunter. She let out a huge sigh, "Dude, shit won't get better if you keep whatever it is to yourself. Go talk to someone about whatever it is eating you alive, k. Before you do something stupid." She got up and went to go talk to Zosia about him. She knew what the stupid was.

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Strauss was furious. He was just given news that his most trusted shadow mage was dead, killed by his own fucking daughter. Catrina was here in West Nitespring. His daisy working against him. They were supposed to be a team. She was going to be in shadow wielding seith mage hybrid, but his bitch of a mother in law Sylvia Sinclair had somehow removed the shade possessing his daughter. They went into hiding and he was unable to find them until now. He was done with this little game that he was playing with the Red Foxes. He knew where that little bitch was being hidden in Magnolia. He could get her anytime. Right now, he needed to show those Foxes the might of the Crows. He had one loyal seith mage left. The others were either cowardly and bailed, in jail, or dead. His shadows stirred to life in his large office space. He summoned the deadliest he could manage and sent them to the Foxes guildhall and anywhere that harbored that emblem. He was going to watch that fucking guild burn to the ground. He picked up his com and called his remaining seith and gave her an order and the com when dead.

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Zosia popped into Sam's office unannounced just liked he hated she did, but it kept him on his toes. "Sam, Piper needs me in Magnolia. She's fine but someone in the guild there is poisoned with Succubus poison. She has started the first aid for it but I need to go. I need your…" Zosia rambled off.

"You can go Zosia. Astrid here will take you. She can travel through the voids and get you there faster than your teleport while conserving your magic." Sam ordered. The women didn't question and nodded in acknowledgement.

Astrid walked over to Sam and gave him a kiss before leaving with the tall greenette. She knew where Magnolia was. She had been there many times following the shadows and the ebbs and flows of powerful mages. She turned her red eyes to pale blues, "Ready?" The tall woman nodded as they disappeared into the shadows. Astrid was used to travelling in the voids; she knew they were cold and the dangers of the voices and tugs that occurred there. It was the nature of her magic. She wielded her magic confidently. She only knew of one other being that could move through the voids like her and she hadn't seen him in years. She spoke to her green haired passenger, "Ignore the voices and do not let go of me. It easier to keep your eyes closed. This is different from teleport magic. I'm pulling us through the voids between the worlds where the shadow creatures lurk. We are almost there."

Zosia had been with demons of the Underworld in order to be granted her succubus power and fangs, she was never afraid. She faced some dark dark guild mages, never faltered. She even had to kill, didn't faze her. This, traveling through the voids, scared the ever-living shit out of her. She felt hands pull at her hair, clothes, arms. She heard whispers of desires, power, and nightmares in her ears. Her skin was cold, colder than being in Iceberg in the middle of winter in a bikini. Astrid was right this was not like teleporting. This was the true shadow realm. She tightened her grip on the shadow mage.

Piper sat on the edge of Gray's bed and helped him sip the green tea. Everyone had been shooed out by Mira. Porlyusica has come and stitched up the part of the wound that Wendy could get to mend together. The women had bitched out everyone in the room and threatened them with a broom except her and Wendy. Piper noticed that when the old woman noticed her she calmed down almost instantly like Laxus did when she touched his arm earlier. "Child what are you giving him?" She asked with a curious look in her eyes.

"Uh…it's a first aid mixture of nettle dandelion and green tea for succubus poison. This is to help boost his liver to help cleanse his body until my friend can get here from Sin." Piper explained with confidence to the pink haired old woman. Gray had fallen asleep quickly with Piper running her fingers through his dark locks.

"I see. So are you from there, Sin?" Porlyusica continued to question her. "You've never came to bother me at my house like the rest of the brats at Fairy Tail."

"Si, I'm from West Nitespring, Sin. I'm part of the Red Fox mage guild there even though I'm not a mage myself. I'm a professor in biochemistry at the local university. My friend is a Joyan succubus that how I know how to treat him until she gets here." Piper explained and looked at Gray like a woman in love.

Porlyusica didn't miss the look and asked, "How much do you know about the mage your pining over my dear? Has he told you anything about himself?"

Piper nervously laughed, "I know his name and that he's an ice make mage. He's in Fairy Tail. We've never been out on a date. So I know very little about him, but I want to. I'm not bashful about how I feel about him. I've grown up and have a few Boscan friends. Life has just gotten in our way."

"Hmmm…well that's his tale to tell then" The old woman said.

"Can you tell me one thing that has me confused, please?" Piper begged.

"What is it child?"

"These black markings, I've seen them before like when he fights or he gets upset. It just I've never seen it almost completely cover his body like this. I know this isn't because of the poison…" Piper was sincerely confused by the blackness.

"That blackness is part of his magic and that's all I'm going to say about it. It's nothing to worry about. It's helping him."

Piper adjusted herself on the bed and that earned a growl Gray. She moved again but stretched out next to him. She curled around his good shoulder and his head so she could continue carding her fingers through his hair. The women fell silence. Piper hummed as she watched Gray rest. His face relaxed. She noticed the on his left arm the blackness was started to retreat little by little. She hoped the meant the tea was helping. She prayed to the Gods that Zosia would hurry up.

As if the Gods had heard those prayers, her friend and another woman she vaguely knew from Sin appeared out of the shadowed corner of the room. Zosia was wide-eyed and looked a little frazzled. Not an expression Piper was used to on the tall greenette. Piper carefully untangled herself from Gray who had somehow wound himself around her in the past 30-minutes. Piper quietly hugged her friend and thanked the other woman for bringing her friend here so quickly. Zosia took one look at the man on the cot and moved quickly to him. Her fangs elongated in her mouth and started dripping a clear fluid. Her eyes turned white and pupiless. She raised his left arm to her mouth and bit it. She released the anti-venom into Gray's body. After a minute, she was finished and licked his wrist and placed it back in a comfortable position.

"There sweetie. He has the antidote in him give him a few hours and he should be back to normal." Zosia smiled. Porlyusica took notes as to what was happening but stayed aloof. Zosia's smile changed to an expression of fear and standing on her tiptoes. Gray was still covered in that blackness was behind her holding her up with one. A voice that Piper didn't recognize as Gray's emitted from the man, "Succubus whore tell me why I shouldn't pull your spine out through your back right now and leave you on the floor for that fox's shadows to consume?"

Piper's mind kick started from the shock over what she was seeing and hearing. "Gray! Put her down! She just saved your life you jackass!" Red eyes turned and met her yellow ones. It felt like minutes passed. Gray considered what Piper had said to him. He released Zosia. She felt to her knees. Piper went straight to her friend to help her. Astrid moved quickly to get between them. She was growling at the man. Her red eyes glowing and her shadows were ready to answer her calls if needed.

"My fight isn't with you shadow fox. The succubus whore startled me when I woke up, that's all." Gray said with his eyes still red.

Piper was furious as she stood. Zosia was her friend and dropped everything to come here and save the man she was developing feeling for then he in turn pays her back by threating to kill her. This was so not happening. "Gray! You will apologize to Zosia! You will NOT call her a whore! She is my best friend! You should be thanking her for saving you not trying to kill her!" She was shaking with anger. She had a pointer finger wagging at him.

Gray who was still under the control of Astaroth, watched the purple haired vixen admonish him for what he did. Her yellow eyes lit with anger. Her stance enraged as she trembled. He was turned on by the fact that a mortal dared to stand up to him. Her back ridged with a slight forward lean, her eyes glowing in fury. Her voice was music to his ears. He slowly sauntered to her. He'd had be wanting her for weeks but his roomy was not making his moves fast enough. He didn't care that there were others in the room. He could crush them all but he didn't want to make enemies. He needed to taste her, feel her. He wanted to have her. He reached her she was still going on and on about something, she did relent until he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him. She quieted and stilled in his arms. She looked up into his eyes. The rage gone only to be replaced with something else. He bent down to claim her lips. She rose to meet him half way. Her hands were bunched up on his chest. He felt her breath on his lips then he felt their softness. If he wasn't a demon of the Underworld, he would have sworn he was in Heaven. He wanted more but knew he couldn't go any further. He pulled back from the tender kiss.

Zosia just gawked at her friend. She was wrapped up in the arms of the man that promised to kill her. She had no idea what to do. She was conflicted by the scene happening in front of her. Astrid growled at the man. She knew that Piper was Sam's godchild. She would not let this demon enslave her. She called her magic forth, gathered a black inky ball of fire into her hands and threw it at the demon. It hit him square in the back. With Astaroth distracted, Zosia grabbed Piper pulled her back from him and let Astrid squared off with him. The raven hair woman snarled and growled her canines long and menacing.

Laxus and Kaleb were in his office that was in the same floor as the infirmary. He was leaned back in his chair. He moaned in ecstasy as he buried his hands in his husband's platinum blond locks that were bobbing up and down between his legs. He needed this release. He had been so fucking tense this past few days and getting anytime alone with Kaleb was difficult. Ila was outside playing with Asuka and Bisca. This was a rare moment for them both. He felt his mates hand slide up and grasp his sack as he hummed. He was so close. He moaned louder and his hips started to thrust in rhythm with Kaleb's head movements. Just as he was about to release into his partner's mouth, there was a long loud growl with a snarled and snap. That killed his mojo and he knew he and Kaleb were going to have the worst case of blue balls. Laxus stood up and jerked his pants back into place. He roared in frustration and stormed out of his office to just outside his office. Kaleb was already on his heels. His attire straightened and his hair pulled back in a low ponytail.

Both large blonds pull up short just outside the office. The scene was confused chaos. All Laxus's dragon slayers were outside the infirmary door in dragon force being fended off by Mirajane in her Sitri soul takeover. No one wanted to hurt either party, but the snarls and howls that Laxus heard weren't coming from any of the slayers. He couldn't place the high pitch yips and yelps but he couldn't deal with that right now. "Stand down all of you! Would someone like to explain what the fuck is going on! Why are all of you slayers up here with your claws out looking like you want Mira's head on a plate? And what the hell Mira? Sitri? Really? Someone better start talking and now!"

Kaleb had already started pushing into the minds of the slayers. All he could tell is that they were reacting to the strange magic that was thick in the air. Kaleb could get past the mental shields of Mirajane. She stood in front of the infirmary door arms cross her large chest covered in the blue and white outfit that covered her body, her white hair blown out with golden horns on either side of her head. Her eyes burned red. She made no move on anyone. She made eye contact with Kaleb and shook her head 'no'. He moved his mind-bending magic to the people inside the room. He was able to brush Piper's mind but it was fuzzy because of the magic hanging heavy in the air.

 _Piper, it's Kaleb. Can you show me what's happening? There is able to be a war outside the door between Mira and the dragon slayers and we have no idea why._

 _Kaleb? Uh…hang on…_ She let Kaleb see what she could see. What he saw didn't help his confusion, but he was quickly putting things together. He saw Gray just standing there taking hit after hit of black fireball from a woman with long black hair and red eyes. She was the source of the growling and snarling. Her magic was something Kaleb had never felt before. Gray was just laughing. He was just looking through Piper's eyes. He seen she was moving towards the door. He cut the mental link.

Piper felt a slight snap in her head. She ignored it. She got to the door and swung it open with an urgency it bounced off the wall a little. She looked at what was going on. Guild mate against guild mates. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" to no one in particular that was all she could get out before Mira pushed past her and snatched the raven haired woman and held her in the air watching her struggle. Calmly Mira looked at Gray, "My lord Astaroth, what would you have me do with this little fox? Shall I kill it?" Mira smiled cruelly.

"No you won't Mira! Put Astrid down. She's my guild master's wife. You kill her…you will start a war!" Piper screamed. Astrid was struggling to keep her façade up and ears appeared on her head and her long black silky tail hung limp. She was trying to drag air into her lungs.

"Release Sitri. I do not wish to start another war in the mortal realm." Gray stated. "And return back into the mortal. I don't require your aid. I've tasted what I wanted." He looked at heatedly at Piper.

"Very well, my lord." Mira said and Sitri vanished leaving Mirajane exhausted and bewildered about what happened. She never lost her memory when she did a takeover. Wendy rushed over to help the white hair mage up. She helped Mira back down stairs and filled her in on what happened.

Gray's blackness too receded back into the triple chevron tattoo on his right arm. His eyes returned to midnight blue. His last memory was being back on the mountain freezing. He was very baffled. Piper rushed over to him and helped him back to the cot. He held his shoulder it was aching and his back felt like it was on fire. "Piper…" He was trying to figure out at lot of things but first he wanted to sleep. He just let her lay him back and he was asleep in seconds.

Zosia stood and went over to Astrid. "Astrid are you ok, dearie? And when did you get so cute and fluffy?" She teased.

Laxus pushed his way into the infirmary. He was furious. "Start talkin…I know it has something to with you." He pointed at Piper.

Porlyusica cleared her throat. She was clearly not in the least fazed but what just happened. "Oh stuff it you brat. There are clearly ancient magicks at work here. I don't think I could explain it simple enough for your thick skull to understand." She growled at him and waved her hand at her.

Kaleb looked at the old woman, "I would understand, madam." He offered.

Porlyusica sized him up. Her gaze went up and down. "Fine, there is ancient magic being awakened here. This guild has what, five, of the seven dragon slayer in Fiore housed here. Also this guild has demons in its midst. Your bar mistress has how many demon souls in her now four, five, boy?" she sneered at Laxus, "then your ice mage has apparently a pretty power demon in himself. Who knows what your rune mage has in him. Now this beautiful creature shows up. A vixen of the shadows and married too." She snapped her eyes to Astrid who was being helped up by Zosia. She didn't bother transforming back to her complete human form. She left her ears and tail in place. "Fairy Tail needs to prepare. Ancient magic is pooling here and may the Gods and Goddess help you, boy." Porlyusica laughed as she got up with her book and shooed people out of her way to leave the guild.

"Where are you going old woman?" Laxus said.

"Home brat. I have better things to do that get caught up in this mess." She grumbled without even turning around.


	11. To Kill a Fox?

**A/N I don't usual do trigger warnings but this chapter was really rough for me. It was cathartic personally. In no way am I promoting gun violence. I am I firm believer in the 2nd amendment and responsible gun owners. This chapter was needed to move my story on. I am old enough to remember where I was for Columbine and 9/11. I was an adult when it happened. I will not respond to any comments that are not related to the story. Any post regarding the 2** **nd** **amendment and gun violence are not welcome.**

 **I also wanted to put in here that suicide is never the answer. The national hotline number is 1-800-273-8255. Don't ever think that you're alone. Someone does care about you. I've lost two family members to suicide.**

To Kill a Fox?

 _The cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf. - Thomas Paine_

Sam sat at his desk under a mountain of paperwork that piled up from the Great Tribune after the Red Foxes had a somewhat successful raid on the known establishments for the 12 Crows. He hated this part. He needed to justify to the Tribune why it was necessary to "cull" a dark guild that "wasn't breaking any laws". He snorted at that last part. I guess breaking and entering, threatening the life, cruelty to animals and killing three endangered species of serpents isn't high on the Tribune priority list, he thought to himself. He was frustrated with the bureaucracy of the Tribune. Red tape was good for a few things but not tripping up light guilds dealing with darks guild bullshit.

As he continued filling out forms in triplicate, he heard a knock on his door. He already scented the individual before his little secretary entered with him. Sam thanked her and she left the two men.

Sam let out a low growl and showed his canines to his visitor. In a harsh voice, "Hixon, you better have a good reason of being here because your breaking all kinds of treaties right now just by being in my house."

Hixon moved over to the couch and sprawled out showing no aggression in his body language. He sat there in a very prone position showing Sam his throat. He waited until the growling stopped. He knew he was breaking ancient laws and treaties by being here but he had important information that needed to be shared.

"Talk!"

Hixon took that as his cue, "Cousin, you know I don't want to be here anymore than you want me, but I have come with a warning. We have a pup that works down at the casinos dealing cards. He overheard an interesting conversation between some nasty birdies you've been at war with. Normally, I stay out of Fox business, but cousin when dirty birds plan to kill you out…your cousins will not sit still and allow it to happen. So consider this a boon from your wolf cousin, Sam. Pull your guild back and get out of West Nitespring. These crows have got magic I've not seen before. The pup was telling me that they plan on using shadows, demons, and blood magic." Hixon shook his head. "You've stepped into some deep shit cuz. I'm pulling my kin back to the mountains until this blows over." Hixon got up and left without another word. He'd already over stayed his welcome.

Sam cursed silently. He pulled up his cell phone and sent out a mass blast text. He knew that the Foxes and Wolves have had bad blood for centuries but Hixon wouldn't lie to him about something like this. No, the Wolves wanted to be the ones to take out the Foxes. He had Zosia and Astrid already out of the country, so they were safe.

Guildmaster: _Everyone return to guild hall. Drop what you are doing. 911._

He got up and went to the lower floor. As he walked through the floors he heard cell phones going off, saws heads pop out of rooms, felt people gather behind him, following him to the ground floor. When he arrived, he had about twenty mages and non-mages behind him. They fanned out from behind him and filtered into the others that had gathered. Felix and Walker flanked him. He looked over his family. He was so proud of them all. He took a deep breath and spoke with sadness in his voice, "My family I have received some terrible news from a trusted ally. The Crows are moving to strike against us for retribution. We struck a heavy blow to them thanks to all of you, but they are coming at us with blood lust. They are not looking to take you. They will torture you maim you then kill you and with the magic that they have possibly bring you back and do it again. We know that they have one seith mage left that is loyal to them, but I've just learned that they now are in cahoots with a possible demon summoner and blood mages and possible worst magic we have not encountered in Sin before. With this looming magically threat, I'm ordering Felix and the tails to relocate all non-mages out of Sin. Walker is over the Fangs and the Eyes and Ears. Zosia is out of the country with Piper due to an emergency. Get your orders from the respective LTs. Dismissed." He left and went back to his office. He was fucking pissed.

Cat was not happy about the turn of events in the guild. She felt she was responsible for the heat that the guild was taking. She took out that ice mage shadow mage and a few seith mages from the Crows. She also found out her father was the guild master leading the Crows. She went after Sam. She didn't catch up with him until he hit his office door. "Master!" She called out.

Sam knew he was being followed by her. He could sense her. Her magic signature was unique to her. It felt similar to Opal. He found out because they were related. "Come on in Cat. What else is there that's gonna make this day worse." He said in a dark tone.

"Well actually its Riko, sir. He's been off. Not acting right, not eating, and not really connected to reality. I've seen it before while I was a Bloodhunter. He needs someone to talk too. I'm afraid something horrible will happen. I know this is the wrong time to bring this up but…all of this is my fault. I kill those mages to piss my dad off. I triggered memories from Riko's past that has thrown him into this state of depression…" She was interrupted by a growl.

Sam growled. "Its not your fault that this happened Cat. Riko has had something traumatic happen but he would never talk about. We tried years ago when it happened. You know if someone doesn't want to talk about it then they won't. The fact that it's your sire leading the Crows isn't your fault either. I need you to go home and get your family out of West Nitespring. If your father knows you're here, he'll look for them too. Now go!" He watched his blonde hair seith mage leave quickly. He felt like someone had hit him in the gut. He knew she wasn't at fault, he was. He was failing them. He was so afraid he was going to lose them all. He swore he wouldn't lose his family again, but time was a harsh mistress.

Riko had ignored his text. He read it. He knew it was a 911 page. He didn't care. He sat at the bar on 9th street, drowning his sorrow in dark liquor. This was the first time he had been to this bar. He didn't want anyone to find him. He had enough alcohol in him for a decent buzz. The emotions he's been feeling sufficiently dulled. So when a barely contained bosom pressed up against him, he didn't react with a flinch. He looked down at the pair of golden tanned twins and then up and the green eyes and dark maroon lips. Neither said anything as their lips crashed into each other. He felt her guide him out of the bar after a few minutes of mind blowing kisses and a harsh throat clearing of the bartender.

She led him to an ally. He didn't care at this point in time. He hadn't had sex in a while and had an itch that needed scratched. The blonde woman pushed him up against the cool brick wall of the alley. She ran her hands up and down his chiseled chest and then down to his hips as she kissed him. He let a moan loose. "You like that, hmm…let me see your beautiful eyes handsome…" she purred. Riko was in an alcohol testosterone haze he would have done anything this siren asked of him. He opened his yellow eyes to look into her green glowing eyes. He felt the push into his soul but it was too late. She took control of him. He was now hers to control. "Now handsome, let's go get some payback." She laughed as her illusion fell away, showing her plain brown hair and orange eyes, her impressive chest even shrank back to its small size. She loved her illusion magic just as much as her seith magic. It made men putty in her hands. She walked out of the ally with her new pet.

Georgia sat in her little modest home polishing her rifle. She had gone hunting for meat earlier that day. She hummed a tune as she cleaned it. Her phone went off.

Riko: _Mama, are you home?_

Georgia: _Of course, hijo._

Riko put his phone back into his trench coat. He had smeared the glass on the face with blood but he didn't seem to notice it. He requipped his twin Berettas back to their storage. He turned on his heel and left an apartment complex that he had visited often with Piper. He tracked through the puddle of blood that was pooling under the head of one of the mages that lived there. Black and pink hair soaked in blood and brain matter, a look of surprise on a once beautiful face that now had two holes in her forehead. Bloody foot prints lead out of the apartment to his mother home. A maniacal laughter followed him as he went. A tear slide down his cheek. He couldn't stop himself. He was nothing but a fucking puppet.

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Opal and Frank Sinclair had step off the airship with Lex and Nick in Hargeon. They had left two weeks ago, hours after Opal had her dream. Frank put the house on the market that day, call professional movers to pack the house up and place in storage until they found somewhere to settle. Nick mentioned Magnolia, Fiore. He told them that his friend Piper was living there with her fathers. Frank thought it was a great idea. It was close to Bosco but not in Bosco. During the flight to Hargeon, he and Opal were able to find a nice home on the north side of Magnolia that looked over the lake. He was able to get it cheap. He wondered why it was so cheap a 2-story six bedroom home should be costly especially near a mage guild. He bought it quickly and sent the address to the movers.

The party of four moved toward the train station. They waited on the last of their little party, Sylvia. She didn't want to leave her granddaughter, Cat behind. She knew she needed to though. Sylvia was not in the shape she used to be to combat other mages like she was in her youth, but Cat with her Bloodhunter training. She was on top on their art of magic and deadly at hand to hand. Sylvia hated how her granddaughter learned the control she needed to wield this ancient magic and despised what she did while she was possessed by that shade. She was deep in thought while walking with her small family. A warm hand in hand with hers pulled her from her mental berating of herself. Opal always seemed to know when her older sister was mentally beating herself up.

Opal squeezed her sister hand, "She'll be fine, big sis. I'm sure she's been in tougher situation than this. She's a Sinclair. We are survivors." She reassured her.

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Shadows scurried through the tall glass building that stood as the Red Fox guild hall like little mice on Christmas Eve night. The shadows weren't just any shadow. They were nasty ones. Ones that were summoned from the Shadow Realm, shades, greater shades and grim shadows. They had infiltrated the personal quarter floor of the structure. They were going room to room waking occupants that were still here after two weeks of pushing the guild. They had a failsafe was down stairs at the main exit door. Other shadows were at the side exits to herd those that tried to use those towards the main exit.

Mages were awoken from their slumbers by strange sounds, dreams/nightmares, or movements in their apartments. They moved towards the ground floor cafeteria because they all noticed each other. They had decided to do a late night impromptu tea party to calm everyone's nerves. They felt something off in the guild hall. It felt as if their guild had turned into a haunted house. It put everyone on edge. Everyone had a nervous energy to them but they chatted amongst each other as they made their way to the café.

The darkest shadow near the main entrance stood statue still. The two beings that were being concealed made no movement no sound. Four eyes watched people pass by not the wiser of what was about to happen. Orange eyes with green swirls sparkled in delight as they watched the herds of sheep pass by. Yellow citrine one glistened with tears that couldn't fall because of the hold the other had on his soul.

She saw the final two that needed to be down in the trap. She was thinking how master was going to be so pleased with her work. Her puppet had been so effective. He was able to take her to places that no one in the Crows would have been able to access. She had been on a killing spree for two week and this was going to be the cherry on top; Taking out the whole fucking guild. She watched the giant tattooed bald man and cropped auburn hair man make their way over to the rest of her cattle.

Sam had a bad feeling about what was going on in his home. His guild was up in the middle of the night. It wasn't unusual for a couple but every single one of his family that was left…he was concerned. There weren't many left here in West Nitespring. He sent Felix and the Tails to the safe house two weeks ago, Tommy left about the same time, Nick and his family left. Opal and Frank had said something terrible was going to happening West Nitespring and they needed to leave. After what Hixon had told him, he didn't blame them at all. He walked by the main entrance and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He smelled him. He smelled Riko and his fear, his sorrow, his tears and blood. He smelled the blood that wasn't fresh but days old. The tell tell copper scent his sensitive nose noticed. He noticed the scent of another, a female. She reeked of body odor stale sex and adrenaline. He took a few more steps and heard a faint high pitched giggle. He went to yell a warning and requipped into his heavy armor with long sword and shield. He was able to push Walker face first into the tiled floor with a grunt.

She couldn't hold it in any longer. She let out a high pitch giggle. The shadows dropped and she forced her puppet to requip with his semiautomatic rifle. The air exploded with bullets. The mages in the café were caught off guard for a few seconds after several comrades fell to the floor in a pool of crimson. Those that were able to mount a defense did. Gasp of surprise when they witnessed who was their assailant. The hail of bullets stopped momentarily.

Maniacal laughter rang through the silence, "HAHA! Fuckers! Sucks when it your own brother that attacks you and you can't do anything about it or would you strike your own down to save yourself." Laughter continued as the assault continued.

Shadows started to attack the mages from the rear pulling those into the shadows with the blood curdling screams that were quickly drowned out with gurgles. No one wanted to hit Riko but no one had the magic to counter the shadows. Sam was distraught. He didn't need to look at the carnage that was behind him. He could smell it. He felt so small. He felt the failure. He failed to keep his family safe. He watched spelled that were thrown at Riko deflect from him. He didn't want to think of why that was happening. There was only one gunner mage that could do that, Riko's mother. Sam was so over whelmed with grief. He had never been attacked like this. So brazenly and so out maneuvered. He looked back to Walker who had hunkered down behind his guild master for cover. The screams were getting fewer and fewer until he heard nothing. No bullets; no screams. Death itself had come to visit his family.

The laughing started again. "Good job my sweet beautiful puppet of death. The master will be very happy with your work. Maybe he'll let me keep you, he he. Wouldn't you like that." The brunette giggle and she stretched up to kiss her puppet on the cheek.

Riko hated himself. He wanted to die. He just massacred his guild mates. He couldn't stop himself. His body wasn't controlled by his mind anymore. He lost control of it two week ago. Tears fell down his cheek. Everything that had happened to him ten years ago come back to haunt him again except 100 fold. This woman had used him for his magic, his body and his knowledge. He felt like a piece of garbage. He didn't want to live anymore. What person could live after what he had been forced to do.

An animalistic howl broke the standing Fox members' thoughts. Sam and Walker looked towards the sound and saw loose blonde hair flying as the body it was attached to move fluidly over the brunette. They noticed blood running down the face of the brunette already. The blonde kicked off and rolled away from the brunette. She rolled to the brunette's captive and kicked his legs out from under him putting him flat on his back, temporarily stunned.

Cat growled at the dark seith, "Fucking bitch! Let me show you what a real seith mage can do! Oh wait! I took you fucking eyes first. Oh well, you're about to feel it. There's more to seith magic than possession, **SOUL RETRIBUTION!** " Cat's eyes already glowing brightly green. She saw every single soul in the room that was murdered. She felt them reaching out for revenge. Her magic sought out every single soul that wanted it and connected with it. The souls needed the extra boost from her magic to attack their vanquisher. The small flames converged on the brunette on the floor attacking her, burning her, making her suffer for everything she did to them. Shrieks of pain rang out.

"Sam! Walker! There are nasty shadows in here. Can you make it as bright as you can in here?" Cat called to the two men.

Sam dropped his human guise and stood tall with his tail and ear proudly displayed. He called his foxfire. Bright white light emitted from his hands and filled the room with intensity that Walker and Cat needed to close their eyes. He heard ugly hissing and explosions from all around him. Cries of pain hit his fox ears followed by the hiss and explosion of shadows beings being destroyed and sent back to the Shadow Realm. His anger, grief, and sorrow made his fire burn so bright it started scorching the walls. He started smelling blood cooking. The odor brought his back to reality. He fell to his knees into the sticky quagmire of crimson liquid that was once the lifeblood of his family. His started sobbing, body shaking sobbing.

Riko recovered from having the air knocked out of him. He had control of his body again. He patted down his body, doing a systematic mental check to see if he was ok, physically. Mentally, he was a shit storm. He killed friends, his mother…his heart stopped…he killed his mother. Oh god my mother is dead and I killed her. He killed the one of two women that loved him unconditionally. He started to wail in grief. He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey…" the voice said. He knew that voice. He knew what that voice was capable of. He wasn't going to be a puppet again. Fuck this. He killed his mother, his friends, his guild. He didn't deserve to live. The voice talked again, "Riko…Riko…no now let's talk this through…it's not your fault…" The voice didn't know. Of course it was his fault. He was weak. He left that seith mage possess him. He killed his mother. He didn't deserve to live. He requipped a pistol. He heard the voice get frantic. Telling him no. Telling him that that isn't the best recourse of action. He was too quick for her. His mind made up. He placed the pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger…

Cat tried to stop Riko. She tried to get through to him. He wouldn't listen to her. She seen his soul. It was so dim it was almost burnt out. It had so many cracks in it. He was broken. She was trying to get him to stop what he was doing. She could help him. She could help mend those cracks. Maybe call Vander's brother, Kaleb. Riko was too fast for her. She reached for the pistol but ended up with blood spatter on her face and in her hair. She screamed, "No! No! NO!" She was low on magic as the last spell but she dug deep and was able to coax out the tiny dim flame before it went anywhere. She moved it into the obsidian bead on her bracelet. She had tears running down her cheeks. She stood and looked at the grisly scene of the first floor. She knew her father was responsible for this. It was his signature. He did this to her village in Bosco when she was a child. Revenge burned in her soul. She needed help. She needed more than what was left of her new guild, her family. She needed Vander's help. He was the only one who could combat those damn shadows.

Cat walked over to Sam who was still beside himself. He hadn't even tried to hide the fact that he was a kitsune. Walker was hiding his surprise as he tried his best to console his best friend. "Master, we need to leave Sin. We need to get help. There is no lone left but use three. Everyone is dead. I'm sorry to tell you like this. I've been trying to catch up with Riko and that bitch for a week and an half with no luck. Felix and the non-mages they didn't make it. She got to them via Riko. I know you don't want to hear this. Riko killed himself just know in the grief at that his cause us. He was so distraught. We need to regroup. We need to meet up with Grammie and Opal in Magnolia." She explained trying to keep the emotion out of her voice but failing with the tiny cracks. She extended her hand to her fox guild master. He accepted. The three left the guild and headed toward Fiore to regroup and plan for a war.


	12. A Fox is Born

A Fox is Born…

 _I am born of a time before men when the world was raw; the wisdom of rocks and fire and earth and blood is in my veins. For now, I live in a world of mist beyond the reach of mortal man but the time shall come again when I shall rise again. - Unknown_

The ride on the airship was a somber one. Cat and Walker were able to get their guild master to change back into his full human form while around people that didn't know his true nature. Once they reached the cabin she booked for passage to Hargeon, Sam's sorrow had drowned the man/kitsune to where he refused to keep any human form. He shapeshifted into a small red fox with a white tipped tail and curled up on the bed with Walker. He had buried his black nose in his tail and refused to move or participate with anything.

Cat turned to Walker after getting what little they had settled in the cabin, "How long have you know he was a kitsune?"

Walker looked over at his best friend and guild master and scratched the back of his head, "Honestly, this is all knew to me. I knew he was a requip mage and a great tactician, but to be a fabled kitsune of Sin. I was not expecting it."

"What do you mean 'fabled'? I'm from Bosco. We have a clan of the Grass Sea that reveres the white foxes that live on their island. I've never heard of a kitsune able to take human form." Cat said with a quizzical look. "His soul is unlike any I've ever seen. Its unique but now it's dim with grief." She added with sadness in her voice.

Walker smiled sadly, he looked at the small fox on his bed. He walked over to it and started petting it. He was trying to soothe the emotional pain that both men were dealing with. He cleared his voice before he started, "Well chica get comfortable and let me tell you a bedtime story that has been passed down from parent to child for centuries about the kitsune that dwell on the peninsula of Sin…"

 _Back centuries ago when dragons filled the skies over Ishgar, other creatures took up residences on the surfaces with the humans. There were the kitsune, the wolves, various felines, bears, and others that lived in closer proximity with the humans. Only the kitsune were the ones that humans would worship as Gods and Goddesses. They brought food to them, played with them, and build temples for them; the other land creatures became jealous of them except for the felines. They could care less about humans and what they did for the little dogs, but the wolves were very jealous. They felt they were superior at everything. When the wolves tried to show the humans they were better than the kitsune, they scared the humans off. This caused a rift between the two factions. That is another story for another day._

 _The gods and goddesses took note of what the kitsune had accomplished with the humans. They blessed the kitsune with magical abilities. The kitsune as they aged grew in power. The older a kitsune was the more tails they grew, the more magical abilities they learned. There had been so many kitsune over Ishgar that depending on where the kitsune lived that was the magic they developed. There were 13 clans spanning the continent._

 _They became great friends with the dragons that wanted peace with the humans, eventually. They helped the humans develop their slayer magic since they could be with the human when the dragon could not. The kitsune clans assisted the dragons in the war against Acnologia but were forced out of the Fiore and Bosco regions. They fled south to Sin. There is where they have lived for the last 500 years._

Walker finished his story/ history lesson of Sin's kitsune. He thought it was just bedtime child stories mothers' would tell their children. How could he refute it with Sam, a man he knew since he was 15, curled up in a red ball of fluff?

Cat looked between both men. She saw the friendship there. Both souls grayish and darkened in color from grief and emotional pain. Walker destroyed the guild hall with his explosive magic. She didn't have the courage to tell them that they were not alone in the room. They were not on that bed alone. They were both surrounded with the souls of the fallen. Only Cat could see the fallen huddled around the living and breathing males, one human one kitsune. She didn't collect these souls. These souls were the wondering souls. They had unfinished business. They were why she could cast soul retribution. It was a battlefield seith spell. It allowed them to seek out the ones that did them wrong, and then move on. They had other ideas apparently. "Walker, I'm gonna go take a shower are you good?"

"Yeah"

Cat went into the moderately sized bathroom. She needed to make contact with someone but needed to keep it quiet. She sat on the lidded toilet and focused on the teeny tiny link that was still in her mind, and prayed it still worked.

Kaleb was in his office working with Thane going over some approval for requisitions for the guild when he felt the tiny ping in his mind bender magic. It was so miniscule he almost didn't register it. It was a link that hadn't been used in years. He had left it in place just in case, something happened. _My blonde bombshell of a trouble maker is contacting me? Should I be concerned or happy?_ He pushed through the link.

 _Uh, good morning, Master Barbielocks._ She giggles through. _You know that I hate using this as much as what I'm about to ask for. *heavy sigh* I need your help Kaleb._

Kaleb smiled turned into a frown. In all the years he knew Cat Sinclair, the woman hated asking for help. He knew if she was asking for help things have gotten so deep she was damn near drowning, plus she used his proper name. Things must be bad.

 _Cat let's start off with the easy stuff first, ok? Where are you and where are you heading?_

Cat pushed the events that took place over the past 2 weeks and the massacre that happened at the guild hall. She felt a little shimmy in the mental link. _Sorry didn't mean to catch you off guard with all of that. I have the remaining survivors with me on an airship to Fiore. Grammie and Aunt Opal bought a house there in Magnolia. There is a few Fox members there as well…_

 _Yeah I know about those. I've met them already. I thinks it's a good idea to bring those two to Fairy Tail for now._

 _A few more things Kaleb…I need Vander…and you other brother that's a seith mage. The shadows are more than just regular shadows and I have more than just the living with me. Its gonna take more than just me to help the restless souls…they are draining me as we speak._

 _It's ok Cat. I'll contact Vander. You've never met my other brother?_

 _No, Vander talks about him but never mentioned his name or any other details. I need help though. You know I don't ask unless it's bad. I had to use battlefield magic._

 _Consider it done. Rest. I can coordinate the rest._ Kaleb cringed at the thought of her using battlefield magic. She didn't use it a lot.

Kaleb turned his full attention back to Thane. Thane had already finished the requisitions. He just needed Kaleb's signature. Kaleb sent a grateful look to his right hand man as he scribbles his signature on the papers. Kaleb knew what woes were coming on the airship from Sin. He seen the carnage clear as day and felt the emotions.

"Master? Are you ok?" Thane asked in a gentle tone. Concern filled the man's face.

"Uh…Yes thank you Thane. I just spoke with Cat Sinclair. She needs a lot of help. Can you contact Beck for me? I need to call my dad. Something tragic happened. I have no words for what occurred."

Thane made the phone call to Beck. He couldn't give the beast master a whole lot of information about what was going on other than to come to the master's office. Kaleb was able to contact Arman Pradesh. He would be arriving in an hour.

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It had been two weeks since Piper and the others had witnessed the weird 'show down' just outside the guild infirmary. She had been staying home with Zosia and Astrid. Neither of the women felt comfortable at the guild for different reasons. Zosia felt uncomfortable there because of the looks she would get from Mira from time to time. They were not 'pleasant' while the platinum blonde would smile and serve the rest of the patrons in the guildhall. Astrid felt a pull to go there but unable to explain it. She didn't feel unwelcome as Zosia did but she did get the glares a time or two from Mira. Piper thought that Mira's behavior was strange for the barkeep. She had always been warm and inviting to her since day one.

The women were out on the back patio having tea in the morning sun. Oscar and Lucas had already left for the day to Lucas' jewelry store. He had some orders that needed to be expedited. Flick was curled up on the table soaking up the heat from the sun and the affection from the women. The summer breeze filtered through the patio making the wind chime tinkle their faint song. Astrid caught the sound before the other too heard it. They faintly heard the giggles of a child getting closer to them, the shout of a distraught parent saying 'No don't do that!'. The giggles continued then there was a knock on the door. Piper got up to see who it was. She hurried through the house to see the impromptu visitor. She opened the door and before anything could be said a flash of blonde hair streaked by her legs and seemed make a beeline to the patio. She groaned internally. 'Please Gods whoever listening don't let there be an angry daddy chasing her.' Piper's prayers were answered when she opened the door wider to see Lucy running towards her. She motioned the frantic looking blonde into her home.

"In here Lucy. I think the little dragon hatchling is making new friends." Piper smiled. She liked Lucy. The woman was kind smart and didn't take shit from anyone except maybe Ila.

"Thanks! She just took off from me yelling something about a seeing a fox. Laxus would frizz my hair for a month if I lost her. I'd hate to see what Kaleb would do to me." The blonde shivered. "So one to better subjects, you have a fox now? What happened to Flick? I haven't seen you much around the guild since that weird incident happened." Lucy asked as they walked out to the patio. Lucy and all the non-slayers had stayed down in the ground floor of the guild so details were left out. Even her big mouthed pink haired friend didn't say anything. Gray didn't remember anything other than being in the mountains and then being in the infirmary.

The two exited out onto the patio to see Ila sitting in Astrid lap playing with her long black hair, giggling. Astrid was holding her close and nuzzling the child with the biggest smile on her face. The happiness on the raven-haired beauty was infectious. Zosia was laughing as the antics of the two. The woman and child acted like they had been friends forever not as they had just met. Ila finally piped up bluntly like any small child, "Astrid show me the fox. Pretty please. Daddy got to see it. I want to see it." She said excitedly.

Astrid smile faded just a little. She looked nervously to Zosia, who nodded at her. Piper nodded at her as well giving her encouragement. Astrid noticed the blonde woman here now. She thought this must be the child's mother. She stood up and went out to the grassy area in the backyard. The brownstone backyards were enclosed with tall privacy fences on all three sides. Astrid looked around to make sure that is was safe. She stretched her arms up towards the sky. Black inky shadows rushed up her legs encasing her until she was covered completely in an inky blackish blue magic with flicks of gold in it. After a few seconds, a large black fox with glowing red eyes burst from the cocoon. It was bigger than a wolf with nine tails. It yipped at the women on the patio and stretched out her front paws as if bowing.

Ila couldn't contain herself, she pelted to the giant black fox. She was squealing in delight. Astrid had laid down to allow the small girl access to her. They touched foreheads before Ila started petting her silky black fur.

Lucy sat down in a patio chair, stunned. "P-p-piper, your friend…is a giant…FOX!"

Piper let out a chuckled, "Uh…yeah…we just found out two weeks ago. Apparently my guild master is one as well and her mate. Oh and Lucy this is also my friend Zosia. She is a Joyan succubus. Don't let that scare you she's just handsy with the boys. Kinda like your friend, Cana, except she makes her own poisons like little Flick here."

Zosia laughed as she smiled and showed her slightly longer canines. "I look like you dragon slayers around here. But don't worry I won't bite them…unless they want me too. Speaking of your dragon slayers, are any of them single?"

Lucy digested what she was seeing and hearing. She wasn't shocked. How could she be? She worked in a mage guild full of dragons, demons, and other mages that did other fantastic and amazing things. She also thought she herself summoned spirits from another realm. "Well Piper I must say you certainly know how to surprise a girl. Do you care if I summon a spirit to play with them?" Nodding to the black fox being ridden by a golden hair girl.

Piper grinned and said, "No please go ahead. Since I've been here all I've heard Erik and Bixlow talk about is the 'Light of Fairy Tail' and her spirits." Lucy stood up slightly embarrassed about being talked about by her former boyfriend and summoned Gemini to play with the duo out on the grass. The laughter increased in sound as the duo turned into one large black fox and three Ilas.

Piper watched Lucy with curiosity in her eyes as the celestial mage summoned her spirits to play. For the first time in her life, Piper felt this tingle in her body, a pull or a draw. Piper couldn't explain it. She reached a hand out and brushed Lucy's hand innocently. In that moment, everything froze. Piper watch blurs of scenery flash by in her mind's eye.

Lucy felt tiny pull on her magic when Piper touched her hand. It wasn't a siphon or a drain. It was like when one of her gates would open and then close. She watched Piper freeze up. Her yellow eyes wide unseeing and glowing golden. She pulled her hand away and the miniscule drag on her magic stopped, Piper sagged forward slightly, seemingly brought back to the present. Astrid had changed herself back into human form and was carrying Ila in her arms as a protective mother would towards the patio.

Loke had appeared without Lucy summoning him, "Princess? Are you alright? We felt something tug at your power. Something that we haven't' felt in the celestial world in centuries." The lion spirit has a look of concern and confusion as he looked around the outside deck.

"I'm fine Loke, thank you, but something happened to Piper when we brushed hands." Lucy started to explain.

Astrid handed Ila off to Lucy and held Pipers hands and looked into her eyes, red meeting yellow. Her eyes searching the younger woman's. Astrid seen nothing different. "Lucy can you touch her again?" Astrid asked.

Loke unsure of the raven haired woman's intentions, "Princess, don't I'll do it. I think I know what is going on…" Loke said cautiously. He moved himself so that he was between Lucy and Piper and placed his hand firmly on Piper's shoulder.

As soon as full contact was made between Piper and Loke, the woman changed dramatically. She glowed light the full moon was shining directly on her. Little golden star appeared on her arms and at her temples. Her eyes shined like the brightest stars in the night sky even though it was about noon outside. Loke let go of Piper and just as before Piper sagged forward in her chair. Everything disappeared and Piper looked as she had before Loke had touched her.

Piper didn't know what had happened. Her whole body felt amazing yet she felt ripping and tearing inside of her body. She subconsciously knew that this must be painful, but she had so many other sensations happening at the same time her body couldn't process all of the sensations simultaneously. While the spirit had touched her, she felt this overwhelming feeling to...she wasn't sure. She couldn't put a word on the feelings the spirit's magic made her feel and see. The scenery wasn't so blurry this time. She saw foxes and dragons living in harmony. She saw conflict within the dragon flights and the fox packs leaving because of some evil black dragon. She saw a large purplish blue fox clan with yellow eyes perish from the black dragon's flames. She turned to the spirit, "Spirit, what did you do to me? What did you show me? I feel as if I was there and die yet here I am living and breathing. Who was the evil black dragon that killed me and my pack?"

Loke smiled his assumption was right. She was a missing celestial being. Piper wasn't a celestial spirit. She was one of the kitsune from the Vulpecula pack, killed by Acnologia centuries ago as they fled from Sin. Her clan was granted the power of the heavens to complete the trinity of the sun, moon and stars packs. Loke bowed to Piper and then said to Lucy, "Princess, as much as I would love to stay here and enjoy the company of all these beautiful ladies, I must return to the Spirit King to tell him what I have found." With a bow he was gone in a gold shower.

Astrid looked at her friend who looked a little overwhelmed with the information. "Piper are you ok?" She asked. "I know that's a lot of information that the lion gave you sweetie, but it all true. At least about what happened to the Vulpecula packs centuries ago. My pack the Inanis Umbras were able to flee using the shadows. I don't truly know what happened."

Piper was trying to take all this information in but was starting to feel sick at her stomach. "Astrid it's fine the information with come, but I feel like I'm gonna puke and really weak. I felt a tearing inside my body. It should have been painful, but I'm only speculating because I had so many other sensations overwhelming me. Lucy, what he do? Drain people of energy or power? I feel exhausted now."

"You're burning up too, chica?" Zosia announced when she put her hand on her head. "How bout we take you to go see that pretty blue hair dragon slayer, huh? Maybe you a catching a cold?"

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Beck was home on Foxhaven Island for a long overdue visit to his family. It had been a while since he had visited. He had good reasons and her family understood that hunting dark mage guilds were important. They were all gathered around the large dinner table heaped with delicious foods that his mother and sister lovingly cooked; even his Aunt Minda was here. It felt like Thanksgiving in the beginning of July. Laughter and mouthwatering aromas filled the air of the Fashions' home.

Beck was helping clear the table after a meal that would have sated any dragon slayer's bottomless stomach when his Lphone went off. He was but wasn't surprised when he Thane's number flashing on the screen. "Thane, what's up?"

"Good day Beck. I know you are out with your family, but there is something that requires your special attention…in Magnolia, Fiore. Before you leave is there any way you could gather your clans documented history on the Kitsune?" Thane politely advised.

"What's this about Thane? What's going on that you need my magic AND our recorded history on the Kitsune packs?" Beck asked respectfully. He didn't usual question Kaleb right hand man, but White Seas never asked clan for their documented histories either. Those texts were sacred in a way to each clan. Those clans that were no longer viable that had texts, the texts were housed in the White Seas library.

"I understand the suspicion Beck. Master suspects that there is a shadow kitsune in Magnolia. He was asking if you would be so kind to share your clan's knowledge with the Fairies. There also something else going on that no one else understands." Thane replied with respect to the guilds beast master.

"I'll see that I can do Thane. You know I'm always available but I'll talk to my parents about the texts. There is no guarantee about that."

"I understand. Just let us know. Good bye." Thane ended the call.

Salya touched her son on the shoulder when she noticed that he ended his phone call. She knew he was a busy mage in a large guild. He loved his work, his guild, his animals, and his family. "Son, is everything ok? Do you need to leave?" Salya knew that these visits were rare and sometimes he would have to leave abruptly. She never held any animosity towards her son or the White Seas because they protected their country from the dark guilds and the evil magic. So when her giant for a son turned around with a huge smile on his face and picked her up and hugged her in a bear hug, she squeaked out a sound of surprise. "Beck! What's going on?" She was able to get out as he placed her gently on her feet.

"Mom, that was Thane. He needs me but he asked on behalf of the White Seas if I could bring out clans history text regarding the Kitsune. They think they may how found one in Magnolia." Beck could hardly contain the excitement.

"Are you sure? They have been gone for centuries…" Salya started.

Ronjin interrupted his wife, "Salya love what is all this commotion about in here?" He pressed a kiss to his wife's temple.

"Beck's guild think's they have found a Kitsune in Magnolia and are requesting out texts to bring to Magnolia with him. What do you think husband? Should we?"

Ronjin face light up in surprise, "Yes of course. Let me go gather the texts. I'll speak to the elders as well to get their blessings."

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Wendy was sitting at the bar talking to Mirajane chatting about what had happened a few week ago. Neither woman could explain what had happened other than they both felt a compulsion.

"Mira I'm sorry if I hurt you in anyway. I felt this compulsion to protect Piper. She wasn't in any danger but my dragon was telling me to get in there and protect her. It was an odd sensation."

"I wasn't hurt Wendy and I'm sorry if I hurt you in anyway while I was in my Sitri form. I knew there was nothing happening to Gray but I felt compelled to protect him from all of the dragon slayers. I'm thinking there is something deeper happening that what we are seeing on the surface. My demon souls don't just take over unless I access them. I'm gonna have to ask Freed whenever they get back. They took a six-month job. Typically of the Thunder Legion, though."

They changed the subject to dating. Mira being the nosy barmaid and Wendy being her honed in target for a blind date. The doors opened to show Lucy holding a sleeping Ila followed by Astrid and Zosia carrying Piper who looked like death warmed over. Wendy quickly hopped off the stool and made a beeline for Piper. "What happened?" She asked with her hands lighting up in turquoise blue to assess Piper. Lucy explained what happened as she handed Ila off to Astrid. Wendy had a puzzled look on her face and motioned the tall lithe greenette up to the infirmary.

Zosia made her way up the stairs to the infirmary and settled Piper onto a cot. She got her friend settled and turned to the younger blue haired dragoness healer and asked, "Dragoness what is wrong with my friend?"

Wendy looked up at the succubus with a puzzled look, "Piper who isn't a mage or at least had told us many times isn't a mage, is suffering from magic deficiency disease. Anyone care to fill me in on how that's possible." The bluenette didn't wait for anyone in particular to answer as she went to work making potions that Porlyusica taught her to make in case anyone was afflicted with this again.

Lucy was the one that spoke up with Wendy being her friend and guild mate, "Uh, we aren't really sure. She and I brushed hands something weird happened then Loke appeared and he touched her and things got really weird and he said something about celestial kitsune packs and then disappeared and then Piper said she felt weird and here we are." Lucy rambled the entire morning in one sentence.

"Lucy, I love you sister, but that's a lot of weirds even for you." Wendy said with a little chuckle.

Ila stirred in Astrid arms, "Wendy, Dad says to keep doing what you're doing. He'll be here in a few hours with help, k. Astrid can you take me to Daddy, pretty please?" The little girl reassured the healer.

Astrid carried the small girl to the guild master's office. She knocked only to be answered with a grunt. She entered an office that appeared too small for the man sitting in a worn out leather chair behind a tiny desk with a giant stack of paper. The little girl wiggled her way down and walked over to her daddy rubbing her eyes, climbed in his lap, nuzzled him as all good little hatchlings do and went back to sleep.

The big blonde looked up at Astrid, "Is there a reason that you brought my daughter in here and not Lucy?" he tried to grumble. He noticed he had a hard time grumbling at this woman and Piper.

"Your wife is helping Wendy with Piper. She has come down with magic deficiency disease." Astrid explained before a deep belly laughter that sounded foreign coming from the big man with the little child in his lap. "I hardly think that this affliction is hilarious…" Astrid said starting to be offended.

"I'm not laughing at the seriousness of the disease. I'm laughing at the fact that you think that me and Blondie…aren't…married" Laxus managed to get out between chuckles. "Look foxy, I'm gay. I'm mated and we have this beautiful girl I'd give my life for…and before you get onto you high horse about gay couples…" Laxus started. He was so over how Fiore was uptight about same sex marriages and virginity. Living in Bosco during his expulsion with Bix's family had changed his mind and also lead him to his mate.

"A mated pair of males! That's wonderful. I haven't met a pair in over four centuries. Tell me is your mate also a slayer? In fact I haven't met any slayers since the dragons disappeared just over 400 years ago…"Astrid said excitedly. Her tail had even made its appearance and was wagging a little. "Tell me slayer, who was your dragon that taught you your abilities, are there dragons still around? We had been hiding in Sin for so long…"

Laxus was dumbfounded at the barrage of questions the fox woman was asking him. She was asking him questions he had no idea how to answer. He wished Gajeel was here or better yet Cristoff. He wasn't raised by a dragon but those two had the most knowledge about them and would certainly be able to answer all her questions.

Astrid was so distracted by asking some many questions to the blond man that she didn't notice the shift in the shadows. As she was shooting off another question, she felt warmth breath on her ear, a seductive hand on her hip and then a soothing angelic voice, "Well hello pretty lady. Why don't you leave that old grumpy dragon alone and come play with me?" the voice asked. Astrid tensed slightly and shadow stepped through the shadows out of the man's hand to the other side of the room. She stepped out to see the intruder. Tall willowy figured man in tight leather, shoulder length dark hair with red streaks and wine colored eyes that twinkled dark promises. "So you're the famous Astrid. I've heard tales about you, lady. Taking out a dark guild here in Fiore, able to disappear from sight without a trace…" Vander chuckled.

Astrid looked at the man who knew her. She was racking her brain. Then it dawned on her, "Vander Pradesh, for what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked with a smile. She had only heard of the man. The only shadowquip to make it to adulthood.

"Oh sugar if you want pleasure I'm willing to provide it." Vander winked at her.

Laxus cleared his throat. "This is a great time to talk about pleasure in front your niece Vander. When she starts asking what Uncle Van is talking about guess who's gonna explain, sudepah prodigy." Laxus grinned with his canines showing.

"We'll talk later, sugar. Laxus my esteemed brother in law…" Vander winked at Astrid then dramatically bowed to Laxus. "Care to explain to me why Dad and big brother have pulled me and Presca off a boring assignment to come to Magnolia? They gave us little to no details."

"Beats me my little shadow buddy. I have my own shit I'm dealing with here. You've met one of them." Laxus threw his head towards Astrid.

"Hmmm, well then I guess I'll wait for Captain Barbielocks, himself. He'll be here in a few hours he said. Meanwhile, I'll be down stairs flirting with your barmaid." Shadows enveloped him and he was gone.

Astrid excused herself as well leaving Laxus with Ila in his lap. Kaleb hadn't said anything to him about why Vander would be here and that just made his stress jump higher. At least Bix was out on a long mission. He knew the two of them together was bad news for everyone in the guild. Pranks abound and no one was safe. They were 'terrible' uncles. He rolled his eyes and stood up with Ila and walked her to the couch and laid her down and covered her with the blanket he kept here for her.

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Cat lay on her bed asleep in a dream. The dream felt so real. She felt so frustrated by it. When she first started having it, it was the first night on the airship. Everything was vague and washed in a golden light. Two male voices talking to her. The one she recognized as Vander's. She hadn't seen or heard from Vander in years. Not since Grammie 'kidnapped' her from the Steel Council. When they finally landed in Sin she contacted them and was told that Grendace was dead and she was a free agent of the Steel Council. The closer they had gotten to Hargeon the clearer things had gotten in the dream.

 _Golden light washed over the two naked bodies lying there. There were entwined with each other in a lover's embrace. Cat felt the warmth. She felt safe secure and loved. Something she never felt from male. She reached up to caress her lover's face but like every other dream she couldn't see it. She could feel it. She could feel the stubble of his beard. The hard planes of his masculine face. The softness and fullness of his lips. She heard his gravelly laughter of his voice just waking up. "Husband why can't I see your face?" She would asked and never get a reply. Her only reply in the dream was of Vander fully clothed saying "Sunflower it's not time yet."_

Cat awoke at the same point in the dream. Every time she would wake up Sam would be snuggle up next to her still in his fox form. It was as if he could since her turmoil in her dreams and he came to soothe them. They were about a week away.

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Kaleb arrival to the Fairy Tail guildhall with Cristoff and Beck thanks to Cristoff's ability to teleport. Kaleb led the other two men into the guildhall. He was talking to Laxus as he walked in telling him he was here while Laxus was updating him on what had happened since he was in Bosco. "Both of you need to go to the infirmary. The woman that you need to see is there and is need of both your powers. Cris, Wendy will update you."

The two men climbed the stairs with ease and urgency. Cristoff knew exactly where the infirmary was due to being here many times to help Wendy and train her. When they both entered, Beck was immediately drawn to the purple haired woman on the bed. He could feel the spirit that was living in her. It was a spirit that was similar to the white foxes that lived on Foxhaven but more ancient more powerful. The only drawback is he felt the how weak her spirit was. She felt like a kit not a full-grown fox spirit. She also felt sick. "Cristoff, she's ill. More than the magic depletion."

Cristoff came over to the cot opposite of Beck. He let his healing mist move over Piper. He could feel what his friend was taking about. It felt like a black corruption was hindering any type of growth on her spirit. "Dammit, we need Bixlow here. He could help see her soul. I thought Laxus was pulling his team back early." The lunar slayer said. "I've stabilized her magic container. So the depletion sickness should be letting up."

Astrid was about follow the shadowquip through the shadows when she caught a scent on the air. It was a scent she hadn't smelled in what felt like forever. She excused herself from Laxus's office, not that he gave a shit. The scent got stronger as she moved towards the infirmary. She was sure that it was who she thought it was. She burst through the infirmary door with her big black bushy tail wagging happily, "NUREM!" She looked around with a confused look and was met with confused expressions. She didn't see her friend but she smelled her. She sniffed the air and literally followed her nose to the large raven haired man with dark blue eyes that had silver flecks in them. "Boy, why do you smell like my friend Nurem? You have her magic and and…I can't contain myself…" She hugged the tall man in a hug that only an aunt would give a nephew.

Cristoff felt very befuddled by this small woman hugging him for all she was worth. He couldn't hug her back if he wanted because she had his arms pinned to his sides. "Uh…hi there. I'm Cristoff Pradesh. Umm…How do you know about Nurem?" he was able to squeeze out as the tiny woman felt like a bear hugging him.

Beck watched the exchange. He had always felt Cris's dragon spirit. It was a pretty relaxed spirit, but when this woman hugged him it became a happy excited lizard, as if his best friend just got home from a long journey. The woman's spirit just floored the beast master. She was a healthy full-grown kitsune spirit. He had no idea how to respond to one. "Uh, excuse me, madam, your friend her…" Beck began asking.

Astrid finished hugging the lunar slayer. Her attention was drawn to a…beast master. A little growl started to slip through her throat but she noticed the markings on his right arm. Markings that she hadn't seen since she left for Sin. The growl faded away. "Clan Kitsune boosts a beast master? Tell me, what kind of beast master are you?" she sniffed at Beck. She met a few beast masters in her time. Every one of them using the animals as shields or pawns, or luring them into their doom for profit.

Beck noticed the suspicion in her voice about his magic. He bowed to her bearing the back of his neck to her, "I am a kind beast master. I help the animals that need my assistance and never ask for anything more than they are willing to sacrifice, Mistress of the Shadows and Voids. I need to know what is stunting the growth of the celestial mistress, if you know anything."

"She was killed long ago by Acnologia and her spirit now resides in Piper. She was awoken by Lucy and her lion spirit when they exposed her to celestial magic. If she still stunted then her spirit may be tainted by the evil black dragon." Astrid tried to remember. "I know of nothing that can remove his taint."

Lucy was taken aback by everything she was seeing. She started thinking about when she first met Loke. He was weak and dying because he hadn't been able to return to the celestial realm what if Piper's kitsune spirit needed something like Loke did to get stronger. So she spoke up, "Um, I'm not an expert on what is going on here but I am an expert on celestial magic. What if she isn't tainted by Agnologia but rather just lacking celestial magic? Astrid how would it make you feel as a kitsune of you couldn't access your shadow magic?"

Astrid thought about the question that Lucy posed, "I think you may be on to something my dear girl. Can you bring out you little lion again?"

As if on time Loke appeared, "Excuse me ladies but I am not little in any way or form." He winked. " I do have what I believe will help our friend Piper." He held out his hand and produce a marble sized diamond encrusted gold ball.

"Her hoshi no tama! That will help her. It will infuse her with the celestial magic." Astrid exclaimed.

Loke walked over and placed the ball at the little dip at the base of Piper's throat. She started to glow like she did when Loke touched her earlier this afternoon. Stars formed on her body. They shimmered and glowed on her skin. Her body floated up from the cot and emitted a soft light. Cristoff nor Beck could feel any darkness or weakness in her body now. She felt as if she were gaining energy. Beck could feel her feral instinct building and wanting to take over. He stepped in with his magic and help control it.

Astrid knew what was happening. She never saw a celestial kitsune born but knew what happened. She closed her eyes before the light went supernova.

Piper felt more alive than she ever did. She felt something awaken in her body that she never knew was there. She felt light and carefree. She saw the imagery of what happened to her clan, and why they were running. She felt the presence of a beast master helping her. He helped her make sense of the feral instincts she was having and help control them.

When the energy dies down, she sat up and looked around the room. There wre people she recognized and others she didn't. She got off the bed, bound over to Astrid, and embraced her. "Astrid, I remember it all now. I'm sorry I didn't make it way back then, but I'm here now."


	13. Under the Shadows

Under the Shadows

 _…sometimes you have to jump over your own shadow in order to learn something that you will never forget for the rest of your life. Then you know you can conquer your fears. - Heidi Klum_

The shadows were dark and inky in the alleyways that were close to where the Red Fox guild burned in rumble. The red and blue lights flashed on the surrounding structures as firefighters fought to put out the blaze. While police and detectives tried to make sense of what happened to West Nitespring's most prominent guildhall. People, mages and non-mages, gathered around the site. People unsure of what happened; weary of what will happen, they knew that this guild kept the darkness at bay in the city. The Red Foxes were the beacon of light that shone brightly on West Nitespring. People's fears now came to the forefront of their minds. Many questions started swirling around the bystanders watching the flames.

Hours had passed and finally the blaze was beaten and the ruins lay in coal with some burning embers. The firs responders had left after making sure there would be no flare-ups. Yellow police tape cordoned scene but that didn't stop the three shadow figures that walked into the black sooty mess. They stopped once they reached the center of the rubble. They stood in points that formed a loose triangle. The first figure pulled his hood back from his black hoodie. Green light emitted from his eyes. The area of the ruin building glowed in an eerie green for a minute then as quickly as it appeared the light dissipated. A graveled voice said, "There isn't anything 'ere. Not one soul when there should be hundreds."

The second figured raised his arms to the sky and mumbled something unintelligible to the group. She waited and waited a minute more. Nothing happened. Red magic emitted from her hands but still nothing stirred in the black charcoal. "There is nothing here for my magic either."

The third figure, the largest of the three, growled. With a flick of his hands, the trio disappeared in the shadows nothing left but the footsteps in the black coals.

Strauss Dresdan appeared in his office. He watched the fired get put out. He watched the police conduct an investigation, but the one thing that bothered him was that no bodies were removed from the scene. There were no ambulances or morgue staff members to suggest that human remains were found. "Where did they all go? That fire was not that hot." He said to no one as he walked over to his liquor cabinet, pulled out a fine bottle of scotch, and poured himself a nice serving of it into a tumbler.

The next morning The West Nitespring Journal headliner read, " **FIRE DESTROYS FOXES GUILD!** " Copies were all over the city. Newsstands sold out quickly. TV news stations were talking about the destruction of the famous guild. No leads to what had happened and no survivors at the time of reports. The city was buzzing with questions, unrest, and fear. The Great Tribune called an emergency meeting for the evening to discuss what the next step was in governing the city without a mage guild.

The Great Tribune consisted of seven members. No member was more important than the other. They met twice a month publicly to discuss problems and to vote on resolutions, laws, and other finance issues. Tonight though the house was packed with standing room only. Murmurs filled the grand conference room. The gavel struck to begin the meeting. Everyone went silent, eyes tracking the seven members. Ward member four started the emergency meeting, "We call this meeting to order due to the abrupt disappearance of the Red Fox guild. As everyone knows, the Foxes have been our protectors from those that wish to do harm to our city by using dark magic. We have tolerated the use of dark magic in the city to a point. That point being that no person comes to harm from the use of dark or black magic, or any business is put into jeopardy due to the meddling of said magic. Now that they are gone we fear there may be a power vacuum within the dark guilds that populate our fair city. We as your Great Tribune would like to reassure our constituents that the void that was left by the Foxes has been filled by another guild. I will give the floor over to Ward Member Seven to introduce the guild master of this new guild. Mr. Eshek."

Mr. Eshek, a portly little balding man stood up with a fake smile on his face. He had been on council for years. He was a shady man when he was young and an even shadier man now that he was older. He profited from the dark guild dealings for years. When he heard about the fire and disappearance of the Red Foxes he could hardly contain his joy at the thought of how much more he was going to profit from this. Earlier that day he was approached by a tall man with dark shoulder length hair and offered something that he thought was too good to be true, but being a shrewd politician, he negotiated his terms and a deal was struck. "Ladies and gentleman of our esteem city West Nitespring, I would like to introduce our newest guild master to serve us for our magical issues of rouge mages and dark guild uprisings, Mr. Strauss Dresdan of the Twelve Crows."

The room exploded in applause. People's fears were quelled. There was a holed filled to keep them from being somehow harmed by the business doings of the dark guilds. Their children would be safe to walk to school and play on the playgrounds. Their jobs and businesses would be safe from blackmail and racketeering. Strauss smiled at the room. It was a warm smile that people mistook as a caring smile for their wellbeing when in fact all he was seeing was cannon fodder, slaves and souls for the taking.

Tis' good to be king he thought.

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Cat woke up from the same dream she had been having since they left from Hargeon. She also had a fluffy red tail tipped in white in her face. Sam was curled around her again. She took a depth breath in and almost gagged on the terrible odor coming from him. She brushed his tail out of her face, spitting and sputtering from the fluffy red fur. "Sam you stink! Either you change into a man and take a shower or…I'm carrying you into the shower as is and washing your with the girliest smelling shampoo I own." She glared her blue eyes at him. His hazel eyes met hers in a challenge. He didn't make a move. "Fine! Have it your way." She picked up the 20 pound bundle of smelly fuzz and carried it to the shower.

"I can't believe how the mighty have fallen. Reduced to this. A wet matted sulking bit of skin and bones. I guess since you're still staying in this form you won't mind me drying you off and then putting cute sparkly bows in your tail and on you head and both your ears." Cat mused trying to lure out the man who she knew was hurting. Her and Walker had talked over the past week. They had healed some of their scars. They weren't completely mended by the pain was less. They spoke about Sam. The agreed they needed to get him back into his human form in order to speak with him to help him cope with the immense lost he was feeling. Cat didn't realize how stubborn the man could be. He didn't know how determined she was either. She dried him off the best she could with the towels and left him in the cabin. She made her way to the gift shop on the large airship and bow every single pink sparkly bow they had. She made her way back to her master fox and placed him in her lap and went about brushing the little red fox until he was dry. She then placed a little bow in the middle of his head and one on each ear, and proceeded with his tail. It took her 20 minutes but she had placed several little bows through his red tail and a large bow at the end where the white and red fur met. She stood back and admired her work.

"You know what my make over deserves some pictures." She grabbed her Lphone and started taking pictures. Sam just buried his nose behind his tall. Cat looked at him and sighed. She picked up the little fox and started petting him. "I know master, but I don't speak fox and I can't help you like this. Can you please turn back into your human form so Walker and I can help you?" She continued to pet him until she fell asleep. The warmth of his little body and the repetitive motion lulled her to sleep.

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Gray was walking home from one of the local bars he liked to frequent when he didn't want to be around his guild mates. After that weird incident that happened two and a half weeks ago and his memory gap between being on the mountain and waking up in the infirmary. His demon wasn't talking to him. Natsu wouldn't say anything other than he thought Mira lost her shit over something that happened in the infirmary and wouldn't let anybody in but Piper and her two friends.

He stopped right before he was supposed to make his turn for his house but felt this odd sensation that he was being followed. He just turned around and looked down the empty street and started talking to what appeared to be no one at first, "You can come out now. I know you've been there since I left the bar, Juvia. I don't know why you keep stalking me. I think I've made it pretty damn clear that I don't want to be anything more than guild mates. Why do you keep punishing yourself by stalking me and running off every woman I TRY to have a serious relationship with?" He said in a calm tone. The water mage had been stalking him for years now. He was tired of it. She had ruin countless potential relationships because she had some notion that she was in dating him. He had went out with her one time when she first joined Fairy Tail only because Lucy and Ezra asked him to do it. They had coffee and nothing more. He didn't have any feeling for the water mage, never led her on. He treated like he did Lucy, Erza, or any other female guild mate. He was not attracted to her in anyway. Yet somehow in her mind she believed that they were dating and in a committed relationship. She would lash out towards any female thinking they were her 'love rival'. She would then be crushed when he would correct her and become a sad puddle of water of the floor thinking that he was rejecting her love.

"Gray why do you always push Juvia away? Juvia is your girlfriend. You love Juvia. Please don't abandon Juvia. Juvia can do all those things that you do with those whores at the bars and the guild." Juvia said. She started out innocent and sad but ended it in a low dangerous growl.

Gray kept his cool. He didn't want to hurt her feelings. He had always maintained his distance with her. "Juvia I've told you many times, we aren't dating. We had coffee that was it. I never said you were my girlfrie…"

"Water slicer!" she screamed. The water attack interrupted Gray. He rolled to the right. He didn't want to do this. "If Juvia can't have you then no one will have you, GRAY!" He was hit with a deluge of water sending him down the street into a building.

"Shit, girl's went and lost her damn mind!" He didn't want to fight her. He didn't want her injured but he didn't want to feed into her delusions. Fuck, I have to do this this one time. He thought as he stood up. He waited for the next attack but it didn't come. He breathed a sigh of relief because that attack made his should ache. He straightened his water logged clothes out and made a delicate ice rose and held it out for Juvia as a peace offering to show he wasn't going to fight.

With hearts in her eyes, her anger melted away, "Oh Gray, Juvia knew that you loved her." She walked over to take the rose from him. He grabbed her wrist and looked in the eyes and said, "I'm sorry, Juvia but you need help." Terror in her eyes realized what he was doing he froze her water body just enough that she was encased and couldn't use her magic.

Gray felt bad for what he did but she was either going to hurt herself or someone else. He pulled out his Lphone and call Laxus. He knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. He was surprised by the voice that answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Uh, Laxus?" Gray answered. He knew Laxus was married but never really spoke to his husband personally because he was the guild master of the White Sea of Bosco. He seen him in the guild a few times that was all. He heard a melodious laugh on the other end of the line. Gray knew that it definitely was not Laxus.

"No. This is Kaleb. Laxus is asleep. Is there something I can help you with?" Kaleb explained.

"Well…" Gray started but didn't know where to start. He felt a little push in his mind, nothing malevolent. _It's Kaleb Gray. Don't worry. It's easier to show me the memories._ Gray showed Kaleb all his memories of what Juvia had been doing since she joined Fairy Tail. He never once lead her one, but she got some weird idea that they were dating at just having coffee when he explicitly told her he just wanted to be friends and a guild mates nothing more.

"Bring her to the infirmary. I'll meet you there." Kaleb told Gray in a gentle tone.

Gray hated what he done to his guild mate and someone he thought of as a friend. He lessened his magic to where Juvia would be chilly but not frozen. "Juves, I'm gonna trust you to walk with me to the guild hall, ok."

The water woman shivering just shook her head and walked silently alongside the ice mage.

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Piper stretched out in her bed only to be greeted by a warm solid defiantly male body. Her eyes popped open and quickly did an internal body check. Nothing felt out of the ordinary. She had her clothes on. She didn't have a hangover. She looked over the mountain of muscle in her bed. He had his clothes on and was on top of the duvet on her bed. She racked her brain on how this moss colored haired man was on her bed. She was about to point the sleeping giant when a voice went off in her head, 'Momma! You're awake!' as Flick flittered over to her and wound up her arms and nuzzled her.

Startled , Piper said in a low whisper, "Flick was that you I heard in my head just now?" She gave the Havati serpent a wry look. 'Yes Mama. It was me. You can hear me now. Isn't it wonderful. We can talk now without speaking.' He nuzzled some more. She nuzzled back and kissed him on his snout. 'So what about big and muscly here? Know why he's in momma's bed?'

Flick flicked his tongue out and slithered up around Piper's neck and peak around the other side. 'Something about being your guardian, but that's what I've been doing.'

'Flick how have you been my guardian? I've been taking care of you since you were an egg.' She giggled. That elicited a muffled groan as the man rolled over curled up around Piper, pulling her tight against his chest even though he was above the duvet.

Flick giggled back at his momma due to her predicament. He arched up and flew off out the window to go hunting.

Beck rolled over and curled up against a rather surprisingly soft curvy bed partner. He pulled her tight to his chest and took in a deep breath of her hair. It had a faint scent of stardust in it. His sleep addled brain started putting pieces together that he was not in Bosco and his bedmate was not a sexy fun time partner but his charge he was to be training and protecting. He opened his eyes and released Piper. "Sorry about that. I was dreaming." He sat up and stretched. He popped his back and shoulders. Beck knew about the uptight Fiorian culture in the bedroom, but he didn't know about the Sinese culture.

"Hehe. You're fine. I was awake already. Just a bit confused. It's been awhile since I've woken up with a man in my bed. So why are you in my bed, not that I mind."

"You told me too. Because the floor was hard and uncomfortable." He laughed.

"Oh yeah. I'm really sorry. I just don't understand why you need to be with me is all. This is all still so new to me. I feel like I'm dreaming. I can hear Flick talk to me, every seems amplified to the max, my vision is sharper, and…and well I'm not sure how to explain this last part without embarrassing myself, but you smell so divinely masculine…I just wanna…" Piper couldn't finish the sentence. She bit her lower lip and looked away. She didn't want to talked about the fact that she was imaging him naked in her bed right now. She wasn't a virgin by any means. She had had boyfriends and a few one-night stands, but this magic that was awakened in her it made everything she felt, saw, heard, smelled so much more. Piper knew that the man was Boscan. All she had to do was ask and it would be like having coffee with him. She weeded through her hormones and her rational side. She came to the conclusion that there was one man that she wanted and didn't feel that it would be fair to take advantage of the one in front of her even if he did smell like leather and spices, spices she couldn't name.

Beck watched his charge carefully. He seen and felt in her spirit her warring with herself over what she wanted. He wasn't upset in the least by what she was going through. He was told that she had never had magic growing up and now she had all these sensations running through her body on top of the kitsune abilities that manifested. She was on sensory overload. This is why he said he would stay with her to help her unravel her magic her senses her instincts. He chuckled a little, "It's ok star shine. I'm Boscan. If you want to do that we can. Just not right now. You are having a lot of wild/feral instincts influence you. Let's get up and get breakfast, head to the guild hall and get all this energy put to use." He kissed her temple.

After Beck left her bedroom, Piper slide out of bed and went to the bathroom that was attached to her room. She looked at herself in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. She looked the same. Her eyes still a shiny yellow; she did notice a faint golden cluster of stars just below her left eye. They seemed to form a pattern. She made a mental note to ask Lucy about it since stars were her thing. She finished brushing her teeth and started on her hair. She didn't remember her hair being so long or so pink on the ends. Her hair was still a dark purple at the roots but it lightened towards the ends into a peachy pink that reminded Piper of the sky just after sunset. Plus, it was down to her butt. Great I wonder what else changed she thought. She looked down at her chest. The girls were still the same size, thank the Gods. She smiled, shit I look like a freaking vampire. Ok another mental note on my teeth. She got dressed. She pulled on her blue compression pants that she jogged in and a matching sports bra. She looked around for her sneakers and thought 'Fuck it bare foot it is.'

Piper made it down stairs to where her Papa and Lucas were sitting having coffee with the beast master. "Morning Papa, Dad." She gave them kisses on their heads. She looked over at the green hair man, "Ah, Beck, umm, I have a question about my teeth." She started with a weariness in her voice. She was feeling a little silly asking.

"What about them?" He said sipping his coffee as he put down his Lphone.

"Well you see I was brushing them this morning and…well…Ilooklikeavampire." She muffled the last sentence.

"I'm sorry you what? Look like a vampire? Oh you mean your canines are longer. That's normal. Mine are longer as well because of my magic." He reassured her and flashed her a huge smile showing off his elongate canines. "And go put some shoes on and either pulled your hair up in a ponytail or a braid. I'm not trying to be bossy and tell you what to do, but you know those wild/feral instincts we talked about? Yeah no shoes and unkempt hair is part of it. Just looking out for you."

They had made it to the guildhall. It wasn't the easiest walk there. Piper was distracted by every bakery shop on the way whether she saw the shop or not. Beck had to use his magic to reach out to all the squirrels and other small fuzzy creatures on the way to the guildhall to stay in their dwellings so Piper wouldn't be so distracted. They walked into the guildhall, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Piper looked up at Beck then over toward the blonde sitting at the bar. An unheard conversation took place as Piper left the beast master for the bar as he made his way up the stairs.

Piper walked toward Lucy who was sitting on one of the well-worn barstools drinking her signature strawberry smoothies. Mira was at her regular spot behind the bar wiping the spotless bar down. It was still fairly early. Piper had this deep seeded instinct to stalk Lucy since she hadn't been detected by the blonde. Lucy still none the wiser of Piper's presence, felt her hair being played with. She turned around to find Piper with a lock in her hand smelling it. Lucy started laughing, "Piper what the hell are you doing?"

Piper wide eyed and frozen at being caught in her weird behavior, "I don't know. I felt this need to stalk you and then smell your hair for some reason. It smells like strawberries and stardust. Can we…uh…never mention this." All three women started laughing. "I'm really sorry. I have these urges to do some weird stuff. Beck has been helping tremendously but some of them are feel so overwhelming." She started sniffing again but this time she stayed in her seat. Piper turned to Mira, "Why do you smell like sulfur, Mira? I don't want to hurt your feelings but it just every so faint like a hint on the edges of your perfume."

Mira giggled a little, "I have demon souls. You may smell them. Apparently my Sitri soul has very active."

"That makes sense. Oh! Lucy I woke up this morning with these markings under my left eyes I was hoping you would know what they are?" Piper asked pointing at the golden start cluster at her left eye.

Lucy turned to the purplette and examined the new little cluster of star markings at her left eye that formed an angle. It framed her outer corner of her eye. Lucy looked at it and crossed her arms under her chest with one hand resting a finger on her chin. She was thinking. "It looks like a constellation of sorts. Let's go down to the guild library and find a book with the star charts in it." The two women got up and waved at Mira as they left for the library.

It was still fairly early in the morning. Not many mages in the guild were present or awake. Erza walked in. She was not in her usual armor attire. She was in her white top and blue skirt. Mira gave her a look. The look of 'Who are you and what did you do with Erza?' She was still pale and looked like she lost a little bit of weight. "Good morning, Mira. Is Laxus in yet? I need to speak with him."

"Uh…yeah Erza he's upstairs in his office. Are you ok?" She asked with a looked of disbelief of how terrible the red head looked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just been fighting off the flu." Erza explained as she disappeared upstairs.

Laxus was sitting in his office talking via mental link with Kaleb who was in Pelerno. Kaleb was relaying to him what had happened last night between Juvia and Gray. He had taken the water mage to Pelerno for psychiatric therapy. Laxus was happy something finally happened with the water mage. She hadn't done anything yet that warranted this until last night when she tried to kill Gray. His thoughts were interrupted at the knock on his door. He grunted to acknowledge the person on the other side of the door to come in. What he wasn't ready for was a pale and thin looking Erza Scarlet. He had a sharp intake of breath at the sight of the power warrior woman. His bluntness was felt through his question, "Erza what the fuck happened to you?"

Erza blushed as red as her hair and fiddled with the hem of her shirt. She looked down unable to make eye contact with Laxus. She was embarrassed yet excited over what was 'wrong' with her. She looked up at the dragon slayer. She had a small smile on her face when she saw his nose twitch. "Do I need to say it or have you figured it out yet?" She said in a voice that was not her normal bravado but an overjoyed tone.

Laxus smelled the change in the requip mage. He saw the slight glow in her pale appearance. He heard the joyousness in her voice. He remembered back to when he and Kaleb were with the surrogate that gave them their Ila. All the pieces fell into place and the little light bulb went off, "How long have you known now? And when are you due? You know you can't do any jobs especially with that team of yours." He said flatly.

Erza smiled at him, "I'm about three months. I know I can't go on jobs. I'll talk to Natsu. Should be a Christmas baby. I'm over the moon, Laxus. You know how much I've wanted to be a mother." Her smiled was so big she couldn't contain her happiness. Laxus had even smiled back at her. He knew how much she wanted to be a mom. "I know Tatiana. Now go home and get some rest and that's an order. You look like shit."

Erza knew that was Laxus's way of showing that he cared. She went downstairs to tell Mira. She had to tell the demoness. She was probably gonna pass out and go overboard with the detail of a baby shower. Erza knew that they had their differences in the past but they were best friends now.

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Shadows lurked in Magnolia around a certain brownstone house. Dark inky tendrils started to reach for the lighter shadows that were grower near the front door. Wine colored eyes flashed, "Ah Ah Aw. Naughty shades. You don't belong here." A smooth voice called out to through the shadows as a void gate opened under the darker shades that were lurking in the surface shadows made by the sun setting. Hissing and guttural sounds were made but no one else heard them but the owner of the wine colored eyes.

Vander sauntered out of the alleyway that was across from his older brother's brownstone. He had a smirk on his face. He had an idea of what was coming now that he vanquished those specials shades. He wasn't going to let Magnolia fall under those shadows. It was time to put down this shadow master.


	14. When Souls Reach Out

When Souls Reach Out

 _The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire. - Ferdinand Foch_

Cat was exhausted when she finally reached her Aunt and Uncles new home. She looked up at the 2-story home that neighbored...a mages guild. What the hell were they thinking. She just shook her head. The home was beautiful, though. Large open bay windows framed in white. Dove gray siding, with local stone accenting the foundations and around the doorway. The home over looked the enormous lake that she could make out from the front.

Cat placed the little red fox down and looked at the bald man, "Come on we need to break the news, and get Grammie to help me with short and fuzzy here." she nodded to the little red fox.

"Do you think they know that they bought a house next to a mages guild?" Walker asked with a surprised looked on his face. Most people refused to live next to mage guild because they were loud noisy and well unpredictable.

A huge plume of fire shot up from behind the guild hall followed by a giant spire of ice. Shouts could be heard but they duo were unable to make out words. they just shook their head and went to the front door.

Opal opened the door to see her great niece and friend. she was surprised when a little fox darted past her into the house. Opal knew what they were going to tell them. She saw the visions already. it was why they fled West Nitespring. Opal could feel the sorrow and sadness oozing off the tall man. Her niece was off as well. She hugged Cat. "My Catrina. I know what happened, not in detail. You need to speak with your grandmother. There is too much grief and heartache coming from both of you."

Opal made it a point to hug the man with her. She felt a tiny sob escape him in the embrace.

"Sylvia! You need to come down here now! Catrina is home and we have work to do." Opal called out not willing to wait on Cat to go to her grandmother.

Sylvia came down the stairs from her meditation to see the mess that was her granddaughter and company. Her eyes glowed green and evaluated every living creature in the downstairs area. The green light quickly snapped off. Gray silvery hair loose in wind was immediately pulled back into a loose bun, she hurried down the remaining steps and scooped up the little red fox.

"Catrina, why did you let this soul get some dim and dark? His is dim and gray but this…this one is nearly out. Sister, I need herbs to help them." Sylvia ordered softly. "Can you go to the mages guild and see if they have any chamomile, lavender, and sage? I doubt we have any that have grown enough since we planted them."

"Of course, sister. Should I prepare the back yard as well?" Opal asked.

"Have Frank do it. Do you think he remembers? It has been a while since we've done this."

The elder man appeared from the deck out back, "I remember you old bitty. I'm not senile." He laughed.

Opal grabbed her sandals and left for the guild just down the road. It was only a quarter of a mile walk. She loved that the house frank had found was right next to a mages guild. She was never part of a mages guild growing up. She and Sylvia grew up in Clan Felernas in the northern mountains of Bosco. They were part of a trio that no longer exists. Their middle sister passed away in the destruction of their clan with almost everyone else except the four women that now bear the clan marks of the mountain lion, herself, Sylvia, Lex and Catrina. She had met Frank on a trip to the Grass Sea. He wasn't a clan mage so he took her clan markings and her last name. It gave him roots he would always say. She had always had visions. She was the oldest sister. She saw the 'future'. Sylvia dealt with the souls of the dead, helping them to move on. She dealt with the past. Their middle sister also dealt with souls and would have the briefest vision of the nearest future. She dealt with the present that was coming into being. As teens, people would travel near and far in the mountain to see the sisters. They were worshipped as goddesses because of their powers. The clan was prosperous. Opal and Frank never had children until they were settled in West Nitespring and in their forties. Sylvia had three daughters, Catrina's mother Tess, Lex's mother, and a daughter who was still born. Their middle sister had two daughters. When Tess's husband and Catrina's father attacked the clan and decimated it, making it look like another victim of the clan wars with his shadow magic.

She laughed to herself now here they were in their sixties, still running. She looked at the beautiful guildhall in front of her that held young vibrant mages that had taken on a terrible darkness. She felt hopeful for her son and great nieces. She knew what the future held but kept it to herself. She felt her nerves walking up to the guild hall doors. She heard the commotion inside. She took a deep breath and walked in.

Mirajane watched the guild brawl with a smile on her face. She knew things were in balance in their little slice of the world. She scanned over the brawling participates and hummed as she ducked from a bottle. She did notice a newcomer to the guild. An older woman with snow-white hair past her shoulders walked into the guild. Mira watched the wonderment in her eyes as the elder woman took in the site of the other fighting in the middle of the hall. Mira was used to people coming into the guild to give her flyers for jobs. She assumed that this woman was here to do the same. Mira noticed the tattoo trailing down her right arm. It looked like part of some kind of feline with the tail curling around her wrist. The lady stayed at the door and watched with a smile as the fight started dying down and heading outside where Natsu and Gray were rumbling again.

Opal was amazed at the site of the mages. They fought each other but remained friends. She smiled. She looked around and was greeted by a stunning platinum blonde at the bar that waved her over. "Hello dear, my name is Opal Sinclair. We bought the house next door. Our herb garden hasn't yet sprouted yet to where we can use them yet so I was wondering if you had a few that I could borrow?"

Mira put the record book away and stood and straighten her blue summer sun dress. "Oh you bought that house. Well I would like to welcome you to the neighborhood and apologize ahead of time for the noise. I think we do in the kitchen, one sec." She smiled at the elderly woman.

Opal turned and took in the site of this mage guild. It looked well-worn in places and other brand new. She knew in her heart that both her sisters would have loved being guild mages. The adventures they would have had when they were younger. Now they were past their primes and could pass on the wealth of knowledge they learned from their life to the next generation.

"You are correct Seer in your thoughts. You and your sisters will live on in the next generation, but you are always welcome here at Fairy Tail…and White Sea. Where you should have been all those years ago." The tall blonde man said as he came down the stairs. He smiled at Opal. His lavender eyes held kindness and reverence towards her. Kaleb felt her presence when she entered the guildhall. He knew of the Sinclair's eldest sister, but never met her. He had met the youngest, Sylvia several times before he had become guild master. Of course, he watched Cat and Lex grow up at White Sea. The Pradeshs knew of their clan, northern clan with the three sisters with the gifts of the Goddesses. There were rumors that all seith mages descended from that clan, but it was untrue. Seith magic was found all over Ishgar. Their clan just had a higher tendency to produce them as Vander's clan had for shadowquip magic. The proof was that Bixlow and Cristoff's clan had Bixlow to show that not all seith magic came from that clan.

Opal quickly put up her mental guards as she watched the tall blonde man descend the stairs. She knew who he was right away in his White Sea guild master regalia complete with the wizard saint emblems. She bowed, "Master Pradesh. I had no idea White Sea was in Fiore, nor did I know that this was a White Sea branch." Opal said with respect. She kept up to date on the going-ons of Bosco. If she was being honest, she treated the inner teenager in her to a few issues of Sorcerer Weekly. She knew who his brothers and father were. She remembered that tragic day that took the matron of the family.

Kaleb looked at the older woman. He felt her mental barriers firmly in place. He silently cursed seers' ability to shield themselves so well. "This isn't a White Sea branch. It's out sister guild. My husband is the guild master here, Laxus Dreyer."

Mira came out with a little bundle of dried herbs. She had them placed in a brown paper bag. "Here you go ma'am. I added a few extra other herbs in there in case you needed them." She said with a smile. She noticed Kaleb, went, grabbed two mugs, filled them with beer, and handed them to Kaleb. He nodded his thanks.

"Thank you my dear. I'll be on my way. My sister gets a little impatient when she has to wait for things to finish her spells." Opal smiled a sad smile and left.

Mira waved good-bye. She turned to Kaleb who handed left yet. She saw a worried look on his face. "Master Kaleb, is something troubling you?"

Kaleb shook his head and said, "I believe the Gods and Goddesses are planning something big Mira. I just don't know what because the most prominent family of seith magic users from Bosco just moved in."

Mira informed him cheerfully, "Oh yeah she said they are our next door neighbors. I don't understand why seith magic would bother you since Bixlow is your brother and all…"

With a groan, "Great right next door. It's not their magic that bothers me Mira. Not the magic. Miss Opal is the sweetest out of the bunch. Wait til you meet Cat. Great just great and Vander's around here too. My day just got better." Kaleb walked off with two mugs in his hands.

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Sylvia sat on the oversized couch. It was just her, Cat and Sam. Sylvia had managed to heal the major cracks and crevasses in the fox's soul. Walker had went down to the lake with Frank to give the two women room to work and not be caught in their magic. Sam regained his human form and was able to retrieve his hoshi no tama. It help him regain more of his magic that he had expended at the site of his ruin guild hall in West Nitespring. Sylvia had gotten Sam some of Nick's clothes so he didn't have to be naked. Walker and Frank returned to the house just in time for Cat to let him and Sam know what she did at the guildhall. Before she was able to Walker rushed over to Sam and embraced his friend as the two men reunited.

They shared each other grief. Neither man was to big so cry or so tears of sorrow or happiness. "Your back to your human form you shithead. You had me worried I was gonna have to house break you or something." Walker laughed through the tears. "And why didn't you tell me you were one of the Kitsune that were rumored in Sin? Who else is one or is it just you?"

Sam laughed and sat back from his friend. He had saved the big bald man from the gang life when he was fifteen by giving him a place to live and work at in the guild. "At least you didn't put bows in my tail unlike someone else. Yes, I am one of 'those kitsune that haunt Sin'. No, I'm not the only one. Astrid Dresdan is the only one that I can confirm. I have my suspicions that Oscar's daughter may be carrying a spirit in her. I don't know why it never manifested though."

Walker scratched his head, "Little Piper huh? Speaking of which when are we gonna tell her about her brother and mother?"

Cat cleared her throat, "Um…I need to talk to you two about that." The two men looked at the blonde sitting across from them. Cat never felt so nervous but then again she never did anything like she did either. Sylvia shot her a look of curiosity as well. She didn't even know what her granddaughter had done. Cat looked down as she fiddled with the hen of her shirt and swallowed a big lump in her throat, "Well you guys know that I'm a seith mage right…and I can see souls right…well…uh…I killed that other seith mage with the souls of your, er, our guild mates, but not without their consent. All I did was give them the boost of power to do it. Well…she is now longer living. They, uh…burnt her very soul with theirs."

Sylvia gasped, "Catrina you didn't cast that spell did you…"

Cat continued after she licked her lips when she looked at her Grammie, "Yeah I cast Soul Retribution allowing them to burn her with Soulfire. Um…but they were still there Grammie. Still needing something. None of them would move on. So I…I…bound them to me…for now anyway." She pulled out a string of beads that glowed with hints of colors. She laid the large string of bead on the coffee table in front of her grandmother. "Grammie before you say anything else, I couldn't leave them there. Daddy still has seith mages and worse that work for him. Imagine what he would have done with all of them. They need a burial and they need to say their thank you and good byes to these two men. We need to give them a funeral pyre."

Sylvia was quiet. She considered what her granddaughter was saying. She knew how dangerous her former son-in-law was. What had Sylvia concerned was that Cat had used seith magic that no one had taught her and was only written about in tome with dust on it. Tomes that were ashes thanks to Strauss. Battlefield seith magic was where the tales of Valkyries came from. The tales of beautiful women scouring the battlefields for 'worthy souls' to take to the afterlife. They were actually seith mages gathering the souls of the dead to turn the tides of battle with the very spell Catrina had used. This was practiced centuries ago when there were battlefields.

"Catrina stop acting like I'm angry. I'm not. You did what your instincts told you to do. You are also right you need to release the souls in these beads and we need to set up a proper funeral pyre for them. Mr. Saxe, you are the guild master. How would you like to honor you family?" Sylvia barked at Cat but ended in a respectful tone towards her guest.

Sam was shocked at the women. He never met seith mages like this. Usually they would just manipulate a person soul turning them into puppets, but then again those were dark seith. "Uh…a funeral pyre would be perfect, ladies. I heard that there is a mage guild nearby. Could we see if they would help us with a proper mage funeral?"

Frank and Opal left for the mage guild. Cat went out back to the soft green grass where her Uncle Frank had set up and lovely stone circle in the shape of a ship. The ship signified the vessel for the soul's journey. She laid the string of bead out in the circle. It was a long string. Sylvia stood behind her with Sam and Walker flanking her. Cat held her arms out in front of her with her palms up. Her eyes glowed a mesmerizing green. The string of beads lost their glow but all around her and the others were the souls of the fallen guild mates. Sylvia let her magic bleed into Cat's and held hands with Sam and Walker. She was able to push a tiny amount of magic into the men to where their eyes glowed with just a hint of green. Both women heard gasps of surprise and anguish from them.

Sam was filled with guilt. Tears renewed on his face ran down his face. The spirits as he saw them all around him smiled at him. One came forward, Felix. Sam could help but cry at seeing his friend in spirit form. Felix spoke to him, "Master stop it. Don't feel guilty. I died doing what I swore to you that I would do. All of us died trying to protect those that couldn't fight the evil that was sent, but in the end we were overpowered. We all know that you will regroup and go back and kill those bastards. We know that we did not die in vain." Felix faded back with the others. The hint of magic in Sam and Walker faded as well.

Cat sagged down to her knees. It was a lot of magic to move souls from items. She moved about 200 of them at once. She felt drained. Sylvia came and helped her granddaughter to her feet. They walked into the house. Sylvia went and brewed some tea for everyone.

Frank and Opal returned an hour later with a few guests. Sylvia recognized all of the Pradeshs that walked through the door. She had been in and out of the White Sea guild enough after Cat and Lex when they were younger. "Kaleb, Cristoff look at you boys. You have grown into some handsome young men. And I hear I should be congratulating you, Master Kaleb?" Sylvia hugged both men and kissed them on the cheeks. "How's that wily father of yours? Is he still just as handsome as ever?" She teased.

Kaleb and Cristoff laughed at the older woman antics and the mention of Arman Pradesh. Kaleb spoke, "Thank you Ms. Sylvia. Dad is fine and still single as ever."

Laxus cleared his throat at the little reunion. "Excuse me for interrupting throwback Thursday but your sister asked us up here for a favor."

Sylvia looked at the larger blond, "Oh I'm so sorry. Please forgive me for reminiscing. I'm a just an old lady who remembers these two as little guys both with dark hair. We were wondering if we could hold a funeral pyre behind your guild because of our friends here lost their entire guild to a terrible incident."

Kaleb turned to his mate, "Laxus this is the fire that I was telling you about two weeks ago. I can't tell you how to run your guild…"

"It's fine with me. I'll have my mages set it up however you need it. We'll give them a Fairy Tail send off if you need that as well. I might not be a seith mage but my best friend is and he would kill me if I didn't help those that help the lost and wondering souls like you ladies are doing." Laxus said and left the house.

Cat left shortly after Laxus did after she hugged Kaleb and Cristoff. She was not in the mood to wonder down memory lane at the moment. She needed to find Piper. Kaleb told her where she lived. She headed over to the brownstones. She found the address she needed and knocked on the door. An older man answered the door. She explained who she was and that she needed to speak with Piper. The man let her in. She looked around the home. It was lovely and clean. Piper came down the stairs. Cat felt her magical power push at her body. It felt like when she first met Sam and Astrid. "Piper?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Um…I'm Cat. I am…was a member of your brother's guild. There was an incident…" Cat gulped. She saw the other woman's anxiety as she put a hand over her mouth. She couldn't say anything else. She released her magic on the onyx bead on her wrist. A small purple flame only visible to Cat manifested. It morphed into an ethereal form of Riko. They shared a looked and Cat nodded to the spirit. He entered her body. "Piper it's Riko. I'm sorry. I messed up. I'm gone now. Mama is too and that's my fault as well…" He went on and told Piper the entire tale of what had happened. At the end, Piper hugged Riko.

"I forgive you, brother. I know the past haunted you and you couldn't shake what had happened. I know what you did to the others was not your doing. You were being controlled. I still love you brother. You will always be in my heart. Please know that and please forgive yourself so that you can move on." Piper told Riko with tears rolling down her cheeks.

That night behind the Fairy Tail guildhall, a large wooden funeral pyre was erected. Flowers of all kinds adorned it. Walker had helped the fairies with the emblem of the Red Foxes so that they were scattered around the pyre. There was one large one at the top of the pyre. The sun had set it was dark. The entire Fairy Tail guild and the members of White Sea that were in Magnolia gathered around. Sam was flanked by Astrid and Piper. Walker stood on the other side of Piper.

Sam took a deep breath and stepped forward. He stood proudly with his red ears and tails in the soft breeze of the evening. He conjured up his fox fire to start the pyre. He closed his eyes and held his hands out palms facing the pyre silvery white flames started to form. He spoke as the flames grow, "I summon the winds of the North, the winds of the South, the winds of the East and the winds of the West to give you the breeze to your back to speed your journey to the other side."

Astrid stepped forward in the same position black inky flames built in her palms, "I call upon the shadows to grant you safe passage through the valley of shadows so evil may not harm you."

Piper followed suit of her kitsune elders, bright golden flames erupted in her hands, "May the stars shine brightly to guide you to your destination."

The foxfires mingled together creating a gorgeous flame that twisted in one large flame that flickered golds silvers and deeps blues. Sam finished, "Until we meet again, my family. I love you all and thank you for everything." Astrid embraced him as he sobbed. She knew that he created a guild so that he could have a family.

The mages behind them wept openly over the great loss and sent their own magic into the air celebrating the lives of the lost mages as the funeral pyre flames grew brighter hotter and taller. The entire wooden structure was engulfed. No one left it until the flames were nothing but glowing coals.

Cat looked around with her magic to check the souls. They were gone. She had given them what they needed. She had allowed them to say their final words to a man they loved and served proudly. She looked at Piper. She knew the woman would be ok. She just needed time to grieve. What Cat wasn't expecting was the purple soul that was standing next to her. Riko wasn't moving on. Cat sighed. If he didn't moved on he would become a wondering soul. She called to Riko. His soul came to her. He looked at her. 'I'm not willing to leave her. Bind me to you. I'll be yours. I want to make up for what I've done.' Cat nodded. She never turned a soul down. They stayed until they could move on. Tito was the only one who stayed. Cat left the guildhall and went home to rest. She was tire and exhausted mentally physically and magically.

Cat made it to her bed, flopped down, and pulled the covers over her head. She was out like a light. She was deep in sleep that she didn't feel the bed dip down and the kiss planted on her temple, "Goodnight sunflower. When you get rested we have work to do. Daddy dearest needs to pay and the devil has come to collect." The presence was gone into the shadows.


	15. Foxes Dragons and Souls

Foxes Dragon and Souls

 _In three words, I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on. – Robert Frost_

Piper woke up with the sun shining in her face. She stretched and slide out of bed. Beck no longer slept in her bed since she curbed most of her feral instincts to go outside and chase all the little noise and scents that came though her bedroom window. He since moved to the spare room across the hallway. She brushed her teeth. She was still fascinated with the longer canines and her weirdly colored hair that faded to pink on her ends. Lucy was able to tell her about the stars on her left cheek. It was the Vulpecula constellation. Her kitsune pack, the stars of the fox.

Piper hurried and put on her workout gear. She was to meet up with Lucy to work on meditation with her evil goat spirit. Well at least Piper thought he was evil. Beck would laugh at her when the goat would correct her posture and point out that she wasn't concentrating very hard. Piper tried to explain it was hard to concentrate when there were so many other things vying for attention like the smells of the bakeshops, squirrels chattering and begging to be chased. Piper was annoyed by her behavior sometimes. She used to be a focus person. Now she had so much sensory overload it was ridiculous. She would growl in frustration. She had been surprised the first time she actually growled. Beck had helped her so much in understanding her wilder side now. He had shown her how to hone her animalistic side. He reined it in to where she could act like a somewhat normal human again and not some wild child loose in the civilized world for the first time. She still get curious over scents that she couldn't figure them out.

Beck was sitting at the breakfast bar sipping his coffee checking in with his guild. He could feel Piper's fox spirit's energy feeding into him her anxieties about 'that evil goat'. He just chuckled into his mug. "Hurry up star shine or that evil goat will have your ass!"

"Shut up you big bear! He's terrifying. Even Lucy flinches some times."

"Big bear huh?" He chuckled.

"Well your as big and cuddly as one but without all the fur." She returned.

Another voice answered spooking Piper only making beck laugh harder, "You know since she mentioned it you do resemble one that rolled in some Nair." A smooth laugh came.

"Shut up Vander no one asked for you opinion. What are you doing here anyway?" Beck snickered at the shadowquip's remark.

Piper looked at the newcomer in the kitchen. She remembers him from the airship. That's not what piqued her interested, not even his handsome features. It was his scent. She could smell mulled wine and something else. Her nose twitched. She boldly walked over to the man with wine colored eyes that were now sparkling at the fact that he had the woman's attention. Vander held still while she walked around him. He could tell she was trying to work through her mind what she smelled. He looked over at Beck, who just shrugged his shoulders. Finally, Piper came to a stop in front of Vander. She looked up into his eyes. She looked him right in the eyes, "Why do you smell like you've been to a whorehouse?"

Beck spit coffee all over the breakfast bar and Vander grabbed his stomach and bent over in pure laughter. Piper was confused. Why were they laughing. She looked back and forth between the two men. "What? Did I miss something? He stinks. It's the truth. He smells like…like…just eww." That earned another rounds of belly laughter.

"Oh Beck she's precious. She's the kitsune that Kaleb brought you here for, isn't she?" Vander finished laughing and wiped the tears from his eyes. "She has a nose much more sensitive than Cris and Emi's. So what kind of magic do you do foxy?"

Piper wrinkled her sensitive nose and covered it with her hand, "I'm not sure we haven't tried it out yet. I have my foxfire. I've been learning hand to hand."

Beck recognized the twinkle in Vander's eyes, "Van no…" but Vander and Piper were already gone into the shadows. "She's not ready for Vander level combat yet." He finished at no one. He got up and started for the guild.

Vander and Piper popped out of the voids in the middle of Fairy Tail. Piper screaming at the top of her lungs with a death grip on Vander. Vander was laughing as he set the poor woman down on a stool. "If I knew you wanted to scream and dig your nails into my back Foxy we could have went somewhere else." He smirked and winked at her.

Laxus came out to the bannister, "What the fuck is going on down there?! I should have known it was you Van." He just shook his head and went back to his office. The door shut and then opened followed by little footsteps and squeals. "Uncle Vander!" came a little girl's voice.

"Ila! Come on my little dragoness." Vander encouraged the little blonde. "Let me see how big you've gotten." He flashed over to the bottom of the steps and scooped up the blur of blonde hair and squeals. She gave her uncle sloppy wet kisses on his cheek and the biggest hug the little blonde could give him.

Piper took the reprieve from the strange man that ripped her through the dark cold realm that had voices whispering promises in her ears and pulling at her clothes for the briefest of moments before they landed in the Fairy Tail guild. She looked around. Mira wasn't the least bit surprise by their sudden arrival nor was Lucy who was sitting at the bar sipping on her signature strawberry smoothie. Piper was her the chipper voice of the guild master's daughter as she ran down the stairs towards the man. She showed no fear of him, only love and adoration in her stormy blue eyes. Piper enjoyed the little girl. She was bright and cheery. She lit up the room with joy.

Vander played with his little niece but the eyes of all the women in the guildhall did escape his notice. This usually happened when he was with Ila, but when he was with his lovely little niece she was the only lady he had eyes for during his time. "What does my munchkin want to do today?"

Ila pondered that question. She didn't get to see her Uncle Vander very often. She thought about what she wanted to do. "Hmm…I think I want to go get a sweet roll at the bakery by Uncle Bixy's. I miss him. He's been gone forever." She pouted.

"Ok, munchkin I think I know which one you're talking about. And don't worry about Uncle Bixy. He'll be home soon I'm sure. You know he works with hard with Auntie Ever and Uncle Freed to make sure each one come home safe from their job." Vander reassured her.

"I know but I miss playing with Peppe and Puppu. They are fun to talk too."

"And I'm sure they enjoy playing with you too, munchkin." Vander said as he scooped up the pouting blonde and throw her above his head and caught her as they left out of the building for sweet rolls.

Cana finally open her eyes at the guildhall. She was hungover and tired. All she wanted to go back to sleep but her back ached from the weird ass position she passed out in. She peered out over her barrel sleeping buddy and seen Lucy and the new girl, Pippi or Peppe. Fuck why did my brain have to hurt to think this hard. Her name was too similar to Bixlow's babies. She stretched and went to the bathroom where she tidied up so she didn't smell too horrible.

"Lu-bitch and foxy lady!" Cana called out waving her hand at them. Mira side her some water and aspirin. She gulped them with a nod of gratitude to her best friend. "It's been too gloomy around here lately. We need to go out and liven things up. Maybe help you, Lu, get over a certain slithering dragon slayer and you Pippi, well let's introduce you to Magnolia." Cana laid it out with a wave of her hand at each woman. "Or…" Cana started with a certain look in her eye as she looked from brown eyes to yellow, "we could give Peppe an introduction to the male population of our fine guild." She finished with a wagging eyebrow.

Lucy rolled her eyes at the card mage. "Cana I think you need to sober up a bit more. I'm fine waiting for Erik and if you wanted a wingman I'll be glad to do it, or we could introduce Piper to more of the guild members. That would probably be better." Lucy continued, "And her name is PI-PER," Lucy pronounced, "Not Pippi. That's Bixlow's babies' name. I'm sure you wouldn't mind either going out with us girls or just meeting more of the guild members, right Piper?"

"Uh no I don't mind doing whatever you want, but I'm confused. I live next to Bixlow. He doesn't have an children. Do they live with their mother?" Piper said with confusion in her voice.

Lucy giggle a little, "Oh no sweetie, Bix doesn't have children. You've seen those little wooden totem, right?"

Piper nodded, "Oh yes. Those little dolls that float around him and cause mischief?"

"Yes, those are his babies. And you are right they do cause quite a bit of mischief." Lucy giggled.

Cana draped her shoulders over Piper's shoulders, "So it settled, we'll meet here tonight. Lu, can you walk me home I think I need to rest up before tonight and take a shower. See you tonight Pippi."

"Come on you lush and her name is Piper." peeled the card mage off her new celestial friend. "Piper I'll be back and we'll talk about tonight, k"

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Cat was exhausted. She used a shit ton of magic if that was even a standard unit of measurement, plus inviting a soul to possess her on top of it. She felt like the day after New Year's and a full moon at Vander's. She didn't want to get out of bed. Her body ached, her head felt like it was going to pop. Her eyes were like two little piss holes in the sand. The sun peer through her window and gave a cheery light in her room. She pulled the covers over her head and flipped the sun off for being too bright then to top it off her perky as fuck sister came trotting in and jumped on her bed.

"Get up lazy bones. Grammie says that if you don't get up she's sending Nick in here to soak you and your bed." Lex said in a singsong voice.

"Fuck you and you perky morning self. You are the spawn of the devil, red." Cat grumbled with a raspy voice that would make a phone sex operator proud. "What time is it, evil spawn?"

Lex giggled. To Cat's sensitive hearing it was like fingernails on a chalkboard. "It's nine." A pillow hit Lex square in the face and knocked her off the bed and she couldn't get it off her.

"Cat! Stop it! I was only doing what Grammie to do. Get Tito out of the pillow or I'm turning it to ash."

"It's not Tito. That's Riko apparently he's not a morning person either. And don't burn my pillow."

Smoke wafted downstairs to the two elder Sinclair women. Sylvia turned to her nephew, Nick. "Nick got spray cold water on those two girls and get down here for breakfast. Tell them to stop acting like they are 10."

Nick groaned he hated getting in between his cousins spats because he always got the worst of it later. They would gang up on him later for revenge. Cat was the worst. She knew where to strategically place glitter bombs and time them to go off at the most inopportune moments. It didn't help that she had two souls working with her now and the training as a Blood Hunter. Lex told him stories from before they had to leave the guild how she and another friend of hers who were notorious for pranks. He could shadow step them anywhere he wanted and be gone without anyone the wiser. He grudgingly went up to her bedroom, put out the pillow fire, and hosed the two girls down. That only got shrieks of revenge as he ducked and ran back down to his mother and aunt at the breakfast table. He knew that there was hell to pay in his future and glitter was going to be part of it.

Cat and Lex came down to the breakfast table soaked. They hair stuck flat to their heads. Glares of dark promises pointed at Nick as he tried to shrink his large Boscan frame down at the breakfast table to avoid their looks.

Sylvia sat at the head of the table and Opal sat at the opposite end. Frank sat at the left side of Opal on the oval shaped table reading a newspaper. He learned long ago not to get involved in the Sinclair sisters' schemes. He wasn't all too happy that Opal allowed Nick to get involved in getting the bickering girls downstairs. "Girls don't blame Nick he was following your grandmother's orders. I don't want glitter all over his bedroom, like last time." He sent a look over the paper to drive the point home before he snapped it back up.

"Whatever Uncle Frank. I'm going to that mage guild. Maybe I'll be able to sleep there instead of having this spawn of Hel pestering me. Besides aren't you leaving for a job today anyway that's far away from here…and me." Cat said and stuck her tongue out at Lex.

"I am blondezilla. I don't like your new friend anyway. He plays dirty. At least Tito is a gentleman." Lex returned the gesture.

"Shut it Red. Riko chose me just like Tito did. He has his own personality just like Tito. I knew him before he was a bound soul. You would have like him as a human. So watch what you say about him." Cat crossed her arms over her chest.

Sylvia had enough of them bickering, "That's enough you two. It's been a hard past few days for everyone here. We have houseguests that are powerful spirits of ancient times. You two need to stop acting like your 10 and back in the White Sea guild where you ran amuck and I had to come in there and apologize to Master Grenlow and then Master Kaleb until we had to leave Bosco because of that law. I'm surprised they never kicked both of you out for your shenanigans but I guess they would have had to have kicked out Kaleb's youngest brother as well."

"Vander, Grammie, his name was Vander. He was fun to hang out with when we were kids and he kinda help me out when they 'recruited' me into the Blood Hunters later." Cat added.

"Yes yes. I remember that day well. You registered a week prior to that Gods awful law they instated that banned seith magic. I bet Grendace was proud of himself for snatching you up before that law went into effect." Sylvia clucked. "Took Lex and I forever to find you and basically kidnap you to only be on the run for years after that. Maybe I should thank the youngest Pradesh boy for what he did to take that old bastard down. Yes, that's what I'll do. I'll send his father a missive so that we can thank that family for they had done for ours. What do you think Opal, dear."

"I think that's splendid sister. Maybe we can visit Pelerno for New Year's. It's been forever since we've celebrated it in Bosco." Opal smiled.

Cat was bored. She didn't want to sit here and reminisce with her Grammie she knew what happened. "Well I'm going to that mage guild, tootles."

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Piper sat at the bar and watched the coming and awakings of the guild members in the guild. There still wasn't many people here but people were filtering in the closer it got to ten. She decided to talk to Mira while she waited for Lucy to show up.

"Hey Mira, can I get some relationship advice from you?" Piper asked without knowing about the matchmaking demoness the barmaid harbored within, nor did she see the hearts in the platinum blonde's eyes.

Mira calmed herself. She knew her guild mates avoided her about this sort of thing, but Piper had no idea. So in her smoothest, calmest, sweetest voice, "Of course Piper, dear. What's on your mind?"

Piper paused and gathered her thoughts that have been shoved to the side for a few weeks now with everything that has happened, her magic powers being awaken, training, finding out about her guild and her family. She now has had time to filter through her thoughts and focus on things that have now come to the forefront of her mind, the kiss her and Gary shared. It was a moment that was emblazoned in her memories. No one had ever kissed her so tenderly yet she felt the passion burning just below. She felt drawn to him more now but every time she saw him, she smelled a female scent on him. A very faint one but it was there and her nose was pretty sensitive. Beck always put all her senses through training to get her used to the heightened awareness she now had. She looked up at Mira and felt a slight blush to her face when she asked, "Uh…Gray…do you know if he has a girlfriend? I just wanted to know beca…"

Mira all but busted out laughing. Not at Piper but at the subject she was asking about. Mira knew Gray himself wasn't funny, Mira knew the man had a serious crush on the woman talking to her now but was too damn shy to do anything about it. So Mira being the devilish matchmaker she was took fate by the reins and was going to guide these to souls together so she could get beautiful black hair/yellow eyes babies out of it. Her inner souls all laughed together and rubbed their hands in unison. Sitri especially knew how much Duke Astaroth wanted to be with this mortal before everyone found out she was a kitsune spirit embodied in a human soul. "I can assure you Piper that Gray does NOT have a girlfriend. So if you want to go out with him, be bold and ask him out yourself. There is nothing wrong with a woman going after a man that she wants." Mira said with a sweet smile.

"Thanks Mira for the advice. It's been a long time since I've dated and with everything that's happened…"

"You're welcome Piper and I'm sure your family would be happy for you." Mira smiled as she squeezed her hand.

Piper sat at the bar waiting for Lucy or Vander or Beck to show up so she could start her training. She was deep in thought over what Mira had suggested when she noticed what she thought was Lucy returning from taking her drunk friend home. She was so entrance in her mind she didn't notice the different scents. "Hey Lucy what do you think Gray would go out on a date with me if I asked him?" There was a strange pause and a throaty laugh that Piper didn't recognize.

"Well, I'm not sure who this Lucy is and this Gray fellow would be an idiot not to go out with you." The voice finished.

The voice startled Piper because it wasn't Lucy's like she was expecting. She then took a breath in and noticed that there were cherries on the air and not strawberries. She looked over at the profile of a blonde that was similar to Lucy's yet not. This blonde was a little taller, more muscular and had tattoos down her right arm and giant dark sunglasses. "Oh I'm sorry I thought you were someone else. I didn't mean to drag you into my personal issues."

"Oh you're fine. It usually my job to blend in. My name is Catrina but I got by Cat. I think we met the other night…at the pyre. Your brother…I don't think we got properly introduced." Cat smiled sadly at her new friend.

"Oh yes. Um…thank you for what you did for me and my family. My name is Piper. I'm sure it was very hard for you to do what you did. Are you a seith mage then?" Piper asked respectfully.

Cat looked at the purpled haired woman she had only met briefly a few nights ago. She could see the similarities between her and her brother. Her new friend didn't look at her with disdain that she was used to because of her magic. She looked at her with respect and curiosity. Cat wasn't used to that. She grew up in a well-respected mage guild the White Sea and no one ever made her feel uncomfortable there. She knew there was another mage there her age that had the same magic but their paths never crossed. When the law forbidding seith mage was lifted she went back to Pelerno only to be looked down upon by people with fear and anxiety. She heard the whispers, 'Is she gonna take my soul? My children's souls'. It became too much that Cat left Bosco and never stepped foot on the soil again. She took her jobs from the Blood Hunters via Ltablets. Grendace wasn't happy about it but she performed to his satisfaction so he didn't push the issue. She had gotten to the point she hated her magic and what she was forced to do with it. When Grammie 'kidnapped' her she was relieved. Her Grammie also taught her the proper ways of a seith mage and how to use her bound soul to the best of her ability. She was still learning in a way. Grammie and Opal think she may be the missing piece to their broken trio of sisters since their middle sister is gone. She shook her head trying to get back her new friend, "Uh…yes I am and I'm sorry that we had to meet in those circumstances."

Cat slide her dark sunglasses up into her golden yellow hair. Her blue eyes meet yellow. Both women smiled at each other. Cat didn't sense the fear most people had when looking a seith mage in the eyes. Cat was mesmerized by the yellow eyes because she could see the warmth, love and acceptance in them. She could also see a little deeper than most because of her magic and what she saw was something that hadn't been seen in millennia, the twinkling of a celestial kitsune soul. Cat smiled wide and hugged the woman. "Well, well, well look what the fox dragged in a wilted sunflower. This guild will just let anyone in won't it." Vander winked at Mira.

"I'd say it will if it's letting the likes of you in it, you smarmy shadow shit." Cat said as she jumped at Vander and crushed him in a hug.

"Uncle Vander, whose your friend?" Ila tugged on Vander's coattail.

"This munchkin is Uncle Vander childhood friend, Cat. My partner in crime from when I was little." Vander said with a wink.

"Oh, she has pretty hair. You have Cat. It's almost like Dad's hair." Ila compared with a smile, "I'm going back up to sit with daddy, bye Uncle Vander."

"Bye Munchkin. Don't rat me out to daddy, ok." Vander called out only to be answered with girly giggles.

"Cute kid. Farron's or Kaleb's" Cat asked with a big smile on her face.

"How do you know it isn't Cris's or Emi's?" Vander teased.

"Because Cris has dark hair Emi would be mom or mommy not dad. She has two dads so she's a slayer's kiddo and your uncle that leaves Farron or Kaleb with blonde hair. Unless the two brothers I've never met have blonde hair as well. Spill it Van. You know I'm not stupid. I got paid for this for years just like you." Cat pressed with a grin on her face.

"She's Kaleb's and Laxus Dreyer's munchkin. So she has…"

"…lightening dragon slayer and mindbender powers. Kid is gonna be a powerhouse and a heart breaker. The first hearts she's gonna break is dad and daddy's" Cat finished.

The pair laughed and moved over to Piper and caught her up on the pranks they used to pull when the doors slammed open and a flurry of fire and ice rolled in. Mira and the rest of the Fairy Tail mages paid no attention to the rumble because it was an everyday occurrence. Piper was semi-used to it as Gray and Natsu squabbled of just about anything. Cat and Vander on the other hand were witnessing it for the first time. The two mages fought and tumbled around til the wound up outside the guildhall. More mages had gathered to watch the two fight because Cat and Vander had started a betting pool.

Gray had finally had enough of Natsu's bullshit over his dating life. This is what started the fight this time. It wasn't any of the pink haired idiot's business what he did at the clubs. Natsu told him he was stupid for going to the clubs and picking up the same type of women when the one he wanted would probably go out with him if he would just ask her. This was the crux of their fight. They rolled out onto the sand of the beach to the lake that was behind the guild. Gray stood up to concede but Natsu in all his fervor for the fight didn't recognize his concession fast enough. Gray took a Fire Dragon Iron Fist that sent him flying across the beach. This wasn't the first time Gray had taken this punch. He had been trading punches with the fire dragon slayer all his life. What he was prepared for and neither was Natsu was the response from Piper.

Piper watched Gray fly across the beach and land in a heap. She has seen him take that hit before. This time was different. Something inside of her woke up. Something ancient, something feral. She felt her magic pulse through her body and the feral instincts take over. She looked at the fire dragon slayer with a snarl. Her canines had elongated. Words came to her, words she didn't know, "Starfire!" she casts as she held out her left hand. Golden fire shot out toward Natsu and engulfed him. She agilely moved herself between the two mages and took a fighting stand that felt natural to her.

Natsu stood there a little puzzled by the golden flames. He took a big inhale and ate the golden flames. He thought the magic they were from tasted familiar. The flames themselves were invigorating. "Oi! Fox girl you wanna fight? Bout time I was gonna ask if you wanted to. Thanks for the fire. I got a fire in my belly now!" He grinned a toothy smile with his dragon teeth showing. He felt no malice towards Piper. He only wanted to better himself. Natsu thought that if he fought a kitsune it would make him stronger.

Piper looked at the fire mage. She still felt the feral instinct to fight the mage but felt another tug at her inner self. She looked over at the gathered crowd, Beck was there. He nodded. She heard in her mind, 'He's tough star shine. A dragon slayer with a demon in him. Not just any dragon but the king of dragons, Igneel. Let your emotions and instincts guide you but remember you have a limited magic pool.'

Flick flitter down to her. 'I'm here momma. I'll help anyway I can.'

'Thank you baby but I don't want you hurt.'

Piper steeled herself for a tough fight. She was a novice in fighting. She was a fricking schoolteacher turned mage, but there was an instinct that was guiding her. It was strong. She looked back at Gray who had a black eye starting. She growled, "Meteor Shower!" with her hands held high. The sky darkened over Natsu. He looked confused but then looked up as golden orbs starlight started falling from the sky at him. He was able to dodge it, took a hit to his shoulder and rolled. He stood up and laughed, "Ok, Foxy get ready, Fire Dragon Roar!"

The column of flame roared to her. She froze she didn't know what to do. She was saved at the last sec by an ice wall. She sagged a bit. Her magic pool was running low, but she couldn't give up the fight. 'I got him momma. I'll distract him for you.' Flick flew off towards Natsu. She could hear him shouting about making the snake stop spitting poison at him. 'Don't hit him, baby. I don't have any antidote.'

'I won't. I'm not aiming for him. Just annoying him.'

"Piper, are you crazy for fighting Natsu?" Gray demanded with concern in her one eye she could see. The other had swollen shut.

"Apparently." She shrugged. With the last bit of magic in her, she cast a spell that just felt natural to her. Her left hand extended to the sky and the right one pointing at the dragon slayer, Piper incanted,

Sisters four blessed be

Judge those who harm the ones

I care for and love

When she finished the incantation, a constellation appeared in the sky above Natsu. The constellation of Vulpecula descended from the sky in heated blazes of golden falling stars. Piper fell to her knees as she watched what she unleashed against the pink haired dragon slayer. Gray gathered her up in his arms. "I don't know who's the bigger idiot. You or him." He said.

Natsu stood there in the smoldering glass that formed around him where the stars had landed. "Holy shit! That would have hurt if it hit me. Why didn't hit me?" he asked checking over his body for any damages.

A blue hair man stepped forward from the crowd of mages. Natsu recognized his immediately, "Because Natsu, the four sisters judged you not guilty for harming someone the celestial kitsune cares for. That's how that spell works. It's similar to my Grand Chariot spell."

"Jellal! When did you get here?" Natsu asked. He tolerated the mage only for Erza.

"Doesn't matter now does it? I need to speak with the celestial Kitsune over here." Jellal excused himself.

Piper looked up at Gray. "Well I lost so…I'm the bigger idiot?" She smiled.

Gray looked over at his longtime friend who was talking to Jellal about how he survived that star fall. "No Piper I think you won because Natsu looks like he may need to go change his underwear." He chuckled.

Piper blushed and turned her head from the ice mage, "So I know this is the most inopportune time, but Mira told me I should just do it and another new friend of mine agreed. Uh…would you like you go out on a date with me?"

Gray blushed now and scratched the back of his head. He had been trying to figure out for months now how to ask her out and here she was asking him. How could he say no to this beautiful creature in his arms, "Um…sure I would like that."

He picked her up and carried her into the guild as Jellal met up with them and Beck had joined them. Jellal wanted to speak with her about her magic. She was exhausted. She told the strange tattooed man that she had no idea where she got those spells. She just wanted to go back home and sleep. Beck came over to take the tired body of Piper from the ice mage but he declined politely. So they walked to Piper's residence with only Jellal speaking. Piper snuggled deeper into Gray's chest. Piper relaxed to the scent of peppermint as she took a deep breath and let sleep take her over.

Gray let the other two men talk about legends of kitsune, heavenly body magic, spirits, and stars. He was too enthralled by the warm feminine body her carried. He had been plotting since he met her on that airship and found out she was going to Magnolia how he was going to ask her out. His dreams were filled with her. He tortured himself by taking home purple haired women on the weekends. It was what he and Natsu were fighting about today. She surprised him by asking him out and he accepted. He had figured Bixlow would have swept her off her feet by now, but no, here she was asking him out on a date, snuggling on him as they went to her home because she got some hair in her ass to fight Natsu. He shook his head and thought 'What an idiot to want to date me and fight Natsu.'

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Back at the guild Cat was collecting her winning as she had bet on Piper the entire time. She was cackling, "Never underestimate the heart of a woman, boys!"

Vander laughed as he handed over his Jewel, "Tell me Sunflower, how did you know?"

Cat raised a blonde eyebrow at him, "Well I guess it's been awhile since you and I been around each other. Grammie has been teaching me some things that I should have been taught at the age I was off gallivanting around as Grendace's lap dog." Cat said then pointed at her eyes, "I can see strings, strings of soul mates. It happens very rarely. Those two well, let's just say that string was bright and golden." She sighed almost feeling a hint of jealousy that she seen her first one since Grammie told her about them. Cat always checked hers but it never showed up to anyone. That recurrent dream still bugged her. Then a light bulb went off. She looked at Vander who wasn't paying attention to her but his niece who had come back down to see him. She activated her magic and looked down and like every other time nothing. She felt the sting of loneliness in her heart. She just wanted someone to actual love her for her, except her magic, and not just share pleasure.

Cat watched another blonde walk back into the guild. She smiled at everyone but Cat could see that there was something wrong with her. She looked at her soul. It was bright and cheery yet part of it was reaching for something that wasn't there. She could see the underlying pain on the blonde face. She hide it well, but Cat knew she was hiding the same thing that she was, a dream and hope of being loved by someone special.


	16. Four Strawberries

Four Strawberries

 _Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened. - Anatole France_

Cat was collecting her winning from all the losers in that wagered for Natsu to wipe the floor with Piper due to her lack of experience. Any other time Cat probably would have wagered against the woman but she could see the bright golden soul in her chest surge when she thought that the ice mage was hurt. While collecting her winning she thought she saw a face she hadn't seen since she was a snotty teenager that was living in the White Seas guild apartments. The man had the same color hair but longer. His was a bit taller and more muscled. She shook her head, "Couldn't be him. He has no reason to be here…"

"Who are you talking about, Sunflower? Who has no reason to be here?" Vander asked with an knowing grin on his face.

Cat knew that look as well. She wasn't sure if Vander knew about her short little romance with the resident beast master just before she was recruited in the Blood Hunters. " Uh…no one that you know I'm sure." She lied with a straight face.

Vander looked at his friend's face. He knew she had a poker face when it came to having to lie to anyone but him, but he could tell it was something that she wasn't ready to talk about so he just let it slide, "Fine Cat, but when you want to let me in, I'll be around. I need to go talk to Laxus and big bro anyway about West Nitespring. After you guys left shit got real down there."

Cat blanched at what Vander said. Every word, she knew he knew something was up with her.

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"Get out! Get out! Get out! He is not creepy! You are creepy talking to animals! I'm not weird because I have a human soul bound to me! Get ooooouut!" Cat screamed at she threw whatever she could get her hands on at the gangly green haired teen in her bedroom. This time it was a shoe. They had had another disagreement about animal spirits and human souls again. He ran out of her room with his clothes in his hand laughing knowing that she didn't mean any of it. She humphed down on her messy bed with her arms crossed. She felt Tito dip down beside her. "You're not creepy Tito and he's not creepy either or weird."

She felt what was Tito's way of expressing a hug and then him talking to her telepathically, 'I know you were just defending me, but I like the boy. He's a good match for you. He puts up with your bullshit.' Tito laughed in her mind.

Beck stopped out in the living area of the guild apartment and finished getting dressed. He was laughing to himself, when Lex interrupted him, "She kicked you out again, huh? What did she do this time?"

Beck finished pulling his leather moccasins on, "We were discussing animal spirits and human souls again and I may have said Tito was a wee bit creepy." He smiled. "You know I don't though, right? I just like to get that wildcat going. Makes things fun the next time."

Lex shook her head, "Sometimes I think you picked the wrong sister to share exclusive pleasure with if you like to play with fire." That earned a laugh from the green haired teen.

"She'll cool down in a few days. I'll see you around Lex." He said as he hurried out the door to avoid any more shoes heading his way.

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Cat shook her head from her memories. That was the last day she got to see Beck and it ended on an argument because she was being a little bitch. She got recruited to the Blood Hunters a few days later because she had registered for the military at the age of 15, then the Boscan government banned and outlawed seith magic. She hasn't been to Bosco in a long time.

She decided that running around in her head in the past wasn't a good idea. She went over to the bar and ordered another berry smoothie from the barmaid and struck up a conversation with the new blonde that showed up.

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Cat agreed to go out with Lucy and Cana to night since Piper bailed on them for a date with Gray. She wasn't ecstatic about going out with them but it beat sitting at home laying her bedroom staring at the four walls of her bedroom or arguing with her sister or being lecture by Grammie over something she did wrong in a past life. Grammie always gave her shit about how she used her souls. Always telling her you should put them in something to make them more useful to you, blah, blah, blah, look at my three little totems. Why can't you be like Arman's boy and do what I say, blah, blah, blah. Cat sat on Lucy's bed with her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands watching the other two pick out dresses for her. They had determined that she and Lucy were basically the same size just Cat was a few inches taller.

"So let me ask you two something, if I want to share pleasure with a man tonight do I just go up and ask him and if he says yes do you have pleasure booths where we are going?" Cat asked. She genuinely wanted to know. It had been so long since she shared any pleasure with anyone, she almost broke her rule and asked Vander. Seeing that man today had brought up old memories she had an itch and needed scratched.

Lucy froze for a moment and Cana just laughed. "What it's a serious question. You Fiorians are weird when it comes to pleasure, at least that's what Vander told me. This is my first time here."

Cana came over and sat beside her and put her arm around the blonde, "If you find a guy who you 'want to share pleasure with' just ask him to take you back to his place or you can take him back to your place. Make sure you use protection." Cana explained. Lucy's face was a deep red just talking about sex. It wasn't like she was a virgin. It was just her upbringing and how sex wasn't just talked about in the open like this.

Cat felt better about going out now. She agreed with Vander on Fiore's cultural taboos on sex. She wasn't one to talk much on having many partners, but she was just a selective person. She learned it had a little something to do with her magic. Grammie explained that not all seith mages feel this way just a few of them, "OK great the rules of the games are set. Can I wear that slinky red number with that's open in the back with those red pumps? What club are we going to again?"

Lucy smiled and said "Fairy Tail guildhall. Vander said he was going to sing tonight. He wanted to lighten the mood up after everything over the past few days."

Cat grinned. "Great Vander singing can't wait. Maybe he'll sing some old, old songs. It's been a long time since I've heard that devil sing with that angel voice of his."

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"Papa I'm going out tonight with Gray, that ice mage that was over a while ago. I don't know what time I'll be home." Piper called out to her father.

"That's fine, mi hija" He returned. Oscar wasn't worried for his daughter anymore now that he knew she had been blessed by the kitsune and was given a trainer for her newfound powers. He was grateful for the tall Boscan man. He welcomed him into his home and thought of him as his son.

Piper had found a black skirt with silver glitter through it and a blue sleeveless blouse and white sneakers. She crossed over the hallway and knocked on the door. She listened for the grunt to enter. "So why aren't you dressed you big lug? You need to go have fun to because I'm boring as hell." She said to her trainer that was laying on the bed in just a pair of long red shorts.

Beck was reading one of the books his parents had sent with him from Bosco regarding the ancient kitsune his clan revered. It was an interesting read for him now that he knew that Piper was a celestial kitsune, Sam from the Air clan and Astrid of the Shadow. He knew the strengths and weaknesses of them, but deep down he could still feel the feral playfulness in Piper. It was like she was a kit. Sam and Astrid had been around for centuries. They were even a mated pair. He rolled over and gave her a bored look, "No you are not boring but why do you want me to go with you on your date with this man you've been pining after?"

Piper blushed, "You knew about that huh?"

"You keep forgetting that I am a beast master." Then spoke into her mind, 'I attuned to your fox spirit. You and your fox spirit want the ice mage.'

Piper blushed deeper, "Yeah well…but it's at the guild…and your friend is singing." She walked over and started pulling on his arm. "Come on. At least you can mingle with the other people there instead of being cooped up here like an old fuddy duddy."

He snorted over that last remark, "Old fuddy duddy! Fine I'll go." He rolled off his bed and got dressed as she left.

Gray was nervous about this date with Piper even though it was only at the guild. They agreed it would be a mutual place with friends all around. He knocked on the door to Piper's home and was greeted by her dad Lucas. He welcomed him in and heard Oscar call for Piper.

Piper came down the steps to meet Gray who was dressed as casually as she was. He had loose fitting dark jeans on and a dark button down with short sleeves. He smiled at her all his anxiety let when she came down to greet him with a hug. "Are you ready Piper?" he asked.

"One sec." She said. Piper went over to the stair and yelled up to the straggler, "I'm leaving with my date now! I better see you smiling face and mismatched eyes at the guildhall later or I will have your shadow friend help me glitter bomb the shit out of your room! He seems like the sort that would resort to dirty deeds!"

"Don't get your tail in a knot, Star shine! And be careful of getting Vander involved he doesn't know when to quit!" returned a baritone voice.

Piper returned to Gray. She nuzzled him on the cheek, "Ok I'm ready."

"Should I ask what that was about?" He wondered as they left the brownstone.

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Ila and Asuka were running around the guildhall playing. Ila decided she wanted to involve Uncle Vander. "Asuka let's get Uncle Vander." She whispered.

Vander noticed that the two girls were quiet all of a sudden. He seen them whispering. He knew when children were quiet they were plotting something, because he was one of those kids. Another thing was one of those kids was his niece. He waited acting like he didn't see them creeping up behind him. He was then pounced on by both girls and brought down into a giggling squealing mess of girls. He shadow stepped them over to the stage. "Ok since you got me, I think you should pick my first song I sing. What do you two think?"

The two girls put their heads together in discussion occasionally looking over at Vander, "Uncle Van, after much deliberation, we decided that we want you to sing one of Papaw's favorite songs, Satisfaction by the Rolling Rocks."

Vander looked impressed at his niece and her friend, "That's a big word there munchkin, but I think you mean the Rolling Stones and when did Papaw listen to the Rolling Stones?"

Ila turned up the innocence look, "That's a secret between me and Papaw." She smiled sweetly.

Vander turned around to his brothers that were here to play music with him and Gajeel, "You guys cool with oldies night?" He got a round of approval.

Music and Vander's voice wafted through the guildhall. People were dancing, mingling, drinking and just having a good time overall. Vander's voice was like a spell being wove over the crowd of people. The cloud of gloom seem to lift from the people dancing. Even though Fairy Tail and the White Sea didn't suffer the tragedy but empathized with the remaining members of the Red Foxes. Those lost would never be forgotten but the grief would be lessened and the sadness lifted.

Piper and Gray entered the hall and the pulse of the music drifted over them. The lights flashed and moved with the beat of the music. "Wow Vander can sing." Piper said over the music. "Come dance with me." She said as she pulled Gray towards the group of people dancing. Piper felt the rhythm of the music calling to her to move with it. Her eyes glittering with mischief as she looked at Gray. She felt her kitsune spirit being swept away by the tune being played.

Gray laughed as he let his date drag him willingly into the throng of people dancing. He enjoyed dancing but deep down he knew dancing with Piper was going to be a new and grand experience. He let her lead him out and then moved with her body in the rifts of the guitar. She felt like heaven to him as she moved against him. He felt the ice he kept around his heart melt. She felt perfect to him not like those imposters he would seek out at those clubs on the weekends. Gray had waited for her for a few months. He feel into rhythm with her and let his hands drifts down her sides as she moved to the music. They both became lost in it and each other.

Piper felt Gray's hands on her sides as she moved. She inhaled his peppermint scent. It was soothing to her. It made her want to do things with him, more than just dance, but she knew this was not the place to give into her wilder instincts. She decided to just taken in the peppermint and hints of scotch and the body heat to her back as she moved with him. Piper was impressed with how sensual he could move too. She was mesmerized. She turned in his arms and looked up into his deep blue eyes as she put her arms around his neck. She inched her lips closer to his. She wanted to feel those soft lips again on hers. The music had switched a few times and now Dream On by Aerosmith was being belted out by Vander. She moved with Gray in unison to the tune. She felt like they were the only ones in the room.

"Pippi!" Cana called out as she weaved her way towards the couple. She grabbed Piper by the arm and hauled her away from her magical moment to the bar where Lucy and Cat were sitting. Piper let out a growl at the brunette but was ignored.

"Cana I think you may have interrupted something there." Lucy giggled, "And for the last time her name is Piper."

Piper was not happy about having her date interrupted nor her special moment ruined but she was definitely intrigued by what she saw sitting in front of her. "Did I not get the memo about wearing red tonight?" She looked between the three. Each one was wearing a different style of red dress.

"Oh it gets better!" Cana squealed, "Let's got to the locker room and finish my hair." The card mage grabbed Lucy and peeled her away from the bar towards the locker room leaving Cat and Piper at the bar.

Piper looked at the blonde, "So I know we've only met briefly but I feel like there is some mischief afoot with you three in similar attire." She said with a wink, "And since I've come into my magic and awaken this kitsune spirit, I enjoy partaking in high jinks now."

Cat grinned wide as she looked at the purple haired woman, "Apparently those two have been wanting to prank the guild for a while now with multiple 'Lucys'. They figured since I look similar to her, they brought out this cool crab stylist guy, covered my clan tats, and are going to turn Cana's hair blonde. Lucy said she was also going to pull out another spirit that can copy her. So they will have four of her running around here. Should be fun to watch. Sorry they interrupted you dance. You looked like you were in your own world with that ice mage."

Piper blushed, "You saw that huh?"

"I'm pretty sure everyone did but they didn't care. You two look good together. Don't get shy, girlie. IF you want him ask him to share pleasure. I know you've been around us Boscans long enough to know that." Cat encouraged her, "He certainly looked receptive to it." She winked.

Piper looked over to the direction Cat was and eyed her date dancing with 'Lucy' in a playful way. They both had a friendly face on and nothing more happening. Piper smiled she was happy that the two friends were having fun. She scanned the dance floor for her friend. She frowned a little when she didn't see him, but she brushed it aside and grabbed one of the many 'Lucys' to go dance on the floor. "Come on. Gray can't be the only one dancing with a Lucy." Piper laughed. They threaded their way through the crowd to another section and started dancing.

Cobra could hear the beating of the music before he even got close to Magnolia. Why are they being so fucking loud now? I guess it doesn't matter for most of those drunkards to have a party and be loud and drunk. He had been gone for a few months. He took a long job to get away from the looks and sounds of the guild that thought he was crazy for breaking up with Tink. He had done some soul searching. He knew he was scared. He was scared of being intimate because of what Brain had did to him all those years ago. He was scared of hurting Lucy more than he already had. He was terrified he wouldn't be 'good enough' for her. His dragon was unrelenting in its drive to make him feel miserable and remind him that denying his mate was senseless and hurt both of them more and more he kept away.

He knew Lucy was forgiving loving and courageous. He knew what kind of shit he had put her through in the past but she forgave him and still loved him. He was surprised when his little friend came gliding through the air and wrapped around his arm. 'Hey little guy. Not so little anymore are you.' He thought to the little Harvati serpent.

'Yep I've grown you big dork. Just so you know they are all at the guild. A lot has happened. Your Tink is there. Have fun finding her.' Cobra could feel the grin through the thought.

"Have fun finding her? What did they lose her or something?" he said out loud. His only answer was a cheek nuzzle and Flick flew off into the summer night air.

Lucy, Cana, and Cat were having a grand time watching the confused faces of their guild mates as they would see a Lucy here and there at the same time. Cana took a drink of her beer, "Lu I'm digging this blonde look. Maybe I should have you do it more often. OK I'm heading back out there. Wish me luck." Cana waved and disappeared into the crowd.

Cat turned to Lucy, "We better disperse before they start catching on. I think it was a fun idea to take a shower in your shampoo and soap. Somehow your dragon slayer are a little thrown off by it. Your pink haired friend was talking to me for about 10 minutes before he realized I had blue eyes and not brown. The look on his face was priceless. I almost had him talked into sharing pleasure with me as well." Cat snorted.

Lucy sniggered with her, "Yeah he's know me for so long that he knows when I switched soaps so I just keep buying the same brand unless he pisses me off then I pull out my off brand and use it for a while. Let's go dance I'm so not tired yet. I think Gemini is still out there. Oh do tell how you almost got my gay friend to have sex with you?"

Cat took a drink of her beer, "Sometimes it's not the equipment that you carry but the passion and fire in your soul that connects you. Case in point," Cat nodded off to the fire slayer that was in between Lex and Nick, "My sister and cousin do not care. They will take care of him." Cat laughed

Lucy looked wide-eyed at the threesome on the dance floor. Cat's sister had a lip lock on the pink haired man while her taller blonde cousin was grinding on him from the back. Lucy couldn't tell whose hands were whose. "Hmm guess you're right."

The women dispersed out into the writhing dance floor. They had been fooling people for about an hour and half when Cobra entered the guild. He wanted to shove cotton in his ears because everyone sounded so fucking happy. He could differentiate his Tink out of the bunch. So he resorted to his eyes and nose. He seen a flash of blonde and caught a hint of strawberry. He growled and curse again about it being too loud before he waded in.

Not long after Cobra returned, Beck arrived to the guild. He heard the familiar tones of Vander before he walked into the main hall. He felt Piper inside. He felt her happiness and horniness. He smiled. He knew how long she had been pining after that ice mage. He went ahead and cut his link from her to give her the privacy she needed. He scanned the hall. He saw skiffs of blonde hair in the crowd. He tracked one. It brought back memories from his teens of a blonde that left his life before anything could happened.

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Beck was lounging inside the guildhall caring for a kitten of northern mountain cat that had been killed by some poachers. He was nursing it. People didn't see these cats very often near the Grass Sea. They tended to stay up in the northern mountain ranges where it was cooler and dryer, but he was given it by one of the Knights that found it on patrol in the region.

Cris and Kaleb came over to the teen, "You got a new stray there, Beck?"

Kaleb looked at the little cub in the teen's hands, "Looks like one of those mountain lions babies. How did it get down here? They down leave the mountains."

His mismatched eyes looked up from the fussy kitten, "Yeah his mother was killed and the knights brought her to me."

"Oh speaking of the northern mountains aren't we getting a couple of new members that were from that area?" Cris interjected.

"Yeah, Master Grenlow should be with them now for their introduction." Kaleb said.

"Do you think they will have the blonde hair that the northern clans are rumored to have?" Cris wondered out aloud.

"Why don't you ask them yourselves. You two are worse than a bunch of old women, you know that." Vander said as he appeared with two girls out of the shadows.

"Of course you've already hogged them Van." Cris said with a whine.

"Trust me Cris, they are immune to my effervescent charms. Otherwise we wouldn't have been here so soon." Vander said with a wag of his eyebrow only to get smacked in both shoulders at the same time.

The two girls giggled at the shadowquip. The red head spoke up first, "Hi I'm Lex and the broody blonde over here is my sister Cat."

Cat wasn't paying attention to the other boys. She was watching the bi colored boy with the mountain lion cub. She walked over to him slowly with a curious look on her face, "Where did you find him? He shouldn't be this far south."

Beck was mesmerized by the long blonde hair that had black streaks through it. Later in life he would come to find out why they were there. He had never seen hair so blonde. It was a golden blonde. It was shiny and looked silky to touch. When she looked up at him and her baby blues met his blue and gold, he wanted to fall deeper into those pools, "Uh…the Immaculate Knight found him and brought them to me. I'm a beast master…so I can…"

"…attune yourself to the animals. That's cool. What's his name?" Cat asked.

"Uh…I haven't named him yet…"

"May I?"

"Sure"

"How about… Bygul. It's the name of one of The Lady's sacred guardians. She is the one that grants our clan our magic and is the keeper of the seith magic." She said with a sad smile.

"Sounds like a fine name and I think he likes it."

"Cat! Come on we gotta go! Grammie is waiting for us!" Lex called.

"I have to go. See you around." She waved as she ran off to her sister.

Cris and Kaleb watched the interaction between the two before Cris said into the mind link, ' _I don't think you'll have to worry about his little childhood crush anymore._ '

Kaleb looked over at his longtime best friend and the smittened look on his face, ' _No I don't think so, but if and when that wild cat breaks his heart we'll be there to help mop it up._ '

' _Absolutely._ '

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' _Beck…_ '

' _Kaleb…_ '

The beast master looked up at to the second floor and seen his longtime friend with his all–knowing smile plastered on his face.

'… _what's that smile for?..._ '

'… _she's here_ …'

'… _she?..._ ' Beck looked at Kaleb with a confusion.

'… _HER_ …' Kaleb pushed harder with some memories.

Beck had memories filter through his mind of his teenage years. Memories of a blonde haired beauty that was like a feral cat that he wanted badly. ' _Where is she_?'

Kaleb smirked through the link, ' _You're the beast master. Hunt down your quarry_.'

Beck growled. He had a mixture of excitement and cautiousness. He was excited to 'hunt down' the woman who had been missing from his life for years but he wanted to proceed with caution because as Kaleb said she was like a feral cat if he cornered her. He knew she had a free spirit. He felt it the first time he met her when he had Bygul. A spirit that was not to be tamed but nurtured into loyalty that was unbreakable. He remembered their last argument. He wasn't angry with her ever. She just had a short fuse when it came to her spirits and how her grandmother regarded how she treated them.

He looked over the writhing mass of mages. He knew this was going to be difficult, like finding a needle in the haystack. He could do it though. How hard could it be to find a short blonde woman in a dance floor.

Kaleb leaned into the railing of the upper bannister. He felt large hands slide around his waist as his mate nuzzled his neck under his long blond hair. "Why are you standing up here like you ate a canary?" his graveled voice resonated in his ear.

"Did Gramps take Ila home?"

"Yes. Now are you going to answer my question before I drag you off to my office?"

"Just baiting our beast master into a hunt for a wildcat, and it seems our poison dragon slayer has returned as well." Kaleb chuckled when all he got was a grunt before Laxus's hands were pulling at his shirt and leading him toward his office.

Cobra inhaled and caught strawberries. He saw the blonde dancing with a mage he didn't recognize. He move over and shoved the other mage out of the way and let the blonde gyrate on him. He breath her in, his Tink? He brain was putting puzzle pieces together. He let his hands run up and down the sides of 'Tink' as he moved with her. Something felt off, but he couldn't place it. The music and the others sols were messing with his hearing. His nose said this was Tink but his hands and his dragon were saying 'No wrong blonde.' He continued to dance. The blonde turned around and put her arms around his neck, "Hey there tall dark and sexy. I haven't seen you around here. You're the first person in here to really get me going. You want to leave and go somewhere else and share some pleasure?" Blue eyes meet single indigo.

Cobra growled. This woman wasn't his Tink, close but not quite. He didn't say anything and just left the horny seith mage. He didn't want anything to do with anyone except Tink. He seen another blonde in a red dress. Fuck did everyone who was a blonde wear a red dress. He watched this one. This Tink had a bottle of beer in her hand. He then saw her face, the Drunk. When did she become a blonde. His frustration grew.

Beck stalked the blonde on the edge on the mob of dancing people. The exhilaration he hunting her down awaken something in him. His pupils dilated and his nostril flared. He didn't have the acute senses like dragon slayers or apparently kitsune, but he could detect a little better than a normal human. He sidled in next to the blonde in the red dress. The blonde looked up at him, "Piri, Piri Hi." Brown eyes and the odd vocabulary threw him off.

"Uh…" before he could finish what he was going to say the blonde in the red dress poofed into a shower of gold. "What the hell?"

He heard a commotion and saw a marooned haired man dragging off another blonde in a red dress. He heard the woman giggling and the man's inner dragon rumbling and growling in frustration mixed with the feeling the relief of finding his mate. He smiled. Beck was happy that a dragon slayer found his mate. He knew that that was a big deal. He went back to his task at hand. He noticed that blondes in red dresses decreased to one. The one that he saw had familiar clan tattoo on her right arm. He made a beeline for her.

Cat let the music feel her soul and danced with it. She was delighted when the marooned haired man started dancing with her. His hands felt sensual at first but then became like a confused fumble of a man who had never been with a woman. She turned around to see if maybe she could get the man to share pleasure with her but was met with disgust and disappointment in the single indigo eye.

She wasn't a vain person but to feel rejection like that hurt. She swallowed the self-doubt and lost herself into the music and Vander's beautiful voice. She made up her mind that if she didn't find someone tonight she was going to break her rule and ask Vander to share pleasure with her. Lex would understand. They made that sisterly pack long ago, Vander was hands off. She closed her eyes and swayed into the song. She didn't notice the golden magic reveal her clan tattoos and her Blood Hunter mark again. She was deep in the song that she didn't notice Lucy being taken out of the guild by her future mate.

Cat lost in self-loathing and music didn't notice the tall man with green hand thread up behind her. She checked back into reality when large warm calloused hands encircled her waist and the hard planes of a male body moved with her. She felt she self-confidence return and moved more erotic. The hands and body had a slight familiarity to them but she couldn't place them. She looked to the stage. Vander and his brothers were all there. He was too big to be Presca. Plus Presca didn't mix business and pleasure like this.

Beck was over the moon now that he had his hands on his missing kitten. He could see that she was lost in her mind. Over thinking as usually, he thought. He felt the change in her when her brain noticed someone was dancing with her. She became more sensual in her movements. He bent his head down and smelled her hair. He smelled strawberries and wrinkled his nose. He always remembered cherry blossoms. He changed his movements to meet hers. His hands became braver moving up to her ribs and back down to the swell of her hips. Her hands slide up into his hair and one of his followed her arm while the other stays on her wait. He spun her around and looked into her bright blue eyes that he hadn't seen in years.

Cat felt those heated hands move on her sensitive flesh of her upper arm. The heat of the moment and the movement of the man behind her felt so right. Her libido was getting revved up. She was feeling the ache in her lower pelvis. When he spun her around and she met those mismatched eyes, she was pulled back to the past of when she was happy as a teenage girl. She stretched up to meet those lips she hadn't felt in years. Beck may be older, taller, BIGGER, but those lips, those lips felt the same as they did when they were teens. She threaded her fingers into his hair and deepened the kiss that had a moan escape her. She pulled back and looked in those bi-colored eyes, she missed, "Hey you…"


	17. Wild Foxes and Wild Cats

Wild Foxes and Wild Cats

Women and cats will do as they please….- Robert A. Heinlein

Lucy felt the pain in her chest lessen as she danced with Max Alors in a more platonic way than the rest of her 'look a likes' were doing. She noticed that he moved one and was replaced by another, but this new dance partner wasn't moving with her to the rhythm of the music. This partner had a more aggressive hold on her almost possessive. She was not having any of that shit. She was waiting for Erik to get his head of his ass and come back to her. When she turned around to smack the jerk that was being to handsy, she froze. "Erik!" She wrapped her arms around him and held him as tight as he was holding her. She pulled back and planted kisses on him.

Erik blushed a little and he push Tink back a little, "Tink, I missed you, but I can't stand being away from you anymore. I can't stand the pain I'm feeling. Ahhh…I can't think in all this fucking noise!" He growled and grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the guild.

Cana seen Lucy being pulled out by a certain dragon slayer. She howled out, "Wooo! You go Lu-bitch! Go tame that snake!" She realized that her hair was back to its natural brown. She shrugged her shoulders and went back to grinding on the nearest man or men.

The cool night air hit Lucy in the face and sobered her up a little, "Erik let's just go back to my place. It will be quieter and warmer for you." She offered to no longer missing dragon slayer.

He just grunted as he pulled her up against him and continued walking toward her place. He was trying to figure out had to tell her that she was his mate and what that meant. He was also anxious about if she would accept being with him in that capacity. He knew his Tink had forgiven him for all his transgression he done to her and the guild in the past. It was just how she worked. Her soul tinkled like a bright bell. It soothed him and his inner dragon. He left a few months ago to clear his head and figure out what he wanted to do. He fought an internal battle with his dragon until it finally won out over his pigheadedness and fears. He took a deep breath and the strawberries and hints of stardust that was his Tink soothed him. He let her guide them to her condo and just let himself get lost in the smells and sounds of Tink.

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Piper had had way too much to drink but she didn't want to leave Gray. They were sitting in a corner booth. She had curled up in his lap. She was nuzzling in her neck. She was enjoying herself. She felt safe tucked against him. His hand was rubbing up and down her back and making her want to go to sleep, but her kitsune soul was fighting sleep like a toddler. She felt torn. She wanted to sleep but she wanted something else. She was losing to the kitsune side of herself as she started placing tiny kisses on Gray's neck. When she heard the soft moans she was eliciting from him, she started nipping at the tender flesh.

Gray watched his guild mates enjoy the music and dancing as he enjoyed hold the curvy soft form in his lap. He knew she had too much to drink and was getting sleepy. He knew he should probably take her home, but her nuzzled changed from innocent nuzzling to light feathery kisses. The contact of her lips to his neck was heated. He couldn't hold back the moan in his throat and he adjusted her in his lap so she wasn't right over his growing erection. Her kisses turned to little nips on his skin as she trailed up to his ear lobe. He heard her making the most erotic sound. It was a mix between a growl and a purr. His brain thought before it shorted out that it had to be a kitsune sound.

Gray pulled her back to see her eyes were glowing a soft golden color. He pupils were dilated and her lips slightly parted. He could she the lust in her eyes. He could see the stars on her cheek glow as well. She leaned up and caught his lips. He sunk into her kiss. He felt her tongue run across his lower lip and he deepened their kiss. Her hands moved up into his raven black hair. He felt her shift to where she was straddling him in the booth. He wasn't sure how he was able to string together a coherent thought, "Mmmm…Piper not here…too public…" was all he managed to get out.

Booze and the heightened senses had lead Piper to forget that she was still in a public place and this was their first date. She broke the kiss off and blushed a little, "I'm sorry. I just felt so overwhelmed by…everything." She pushed a hand through her hair and notice her ears had changed.

Gray smiled "It's ok. Maybe I should walk you home? And is that, going to happen every time?"

Piper squeaked, "Umm I don't want to go home yet and as far as the ears…I don't know. You're the first guy I've been with since I've gotten my kitsune powers. Maybe I should talk to Beck or maybe even Sam."

Gray laughed a little, "Don't be embarrassed about them. I like them. They are cute and the sounds you make…well let's just say I enjoy them. Come on let's get you some water and we'll go outside."

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Cat was astonished when she saw those bi-colored eyes looking at her and into her soul. He could always do that. When they kissed she felt a puzzle piece being slid into place. She felt places inside her light up that haven't felt this wat since the last time they were together yet the intensity was exponentially more. So much more she wanted him right now in the middle of the dance floor, but she restrained herself remembering that she was NOT in Bosco. She pulled back to arm's length to take in the sight of him. Gone was the gangly teen that moved awkwardly because his body was growing faster than his brain could keep up. Here was a man who had the hardened planes of muscle on his chest and ridges on his abdomen that lead to the his hips that were deliciously wrapped in buckskin pants. She let a hint of her magic to just take a peek because why the hell not she had looked at Vander and Presca already. Her eyes grew wide in surprise when she saw it, a shimmering green string that connected them mid chest.

Cat couldn't believe what she was seeing. She found the one. She wasn't sure what to think. Her brain went into a panic mode. She felt her pulse increase and she started hyperventilating, sweat felt like it coated her in a slick sticky sheen, and nausea waved through her stomach. She did what any panicked creature would have done; she bolted for the back exit doors. She felt the coolness of the night on her skin. It helped the nausea, but she was still in fight or flight mode. She ripped off her shoes and ran to her aunt's home up on the hill next to the guild. She needed to reflect on what she saw and maybe talk to Grammie or better yet Aunt Opal.

Beck was left standing on the dance floor in confusion. He found her danced with her, even kissed her for the first time in over ten long years and now she takes off like something spoked her. He shook his head. He knew she was a flighty creature. He knew she would come around once she worked out whatever it was that was going through her mind. He did know that he felt something different this time than when they were teens. The draw to her felt stronger. He could almost feel her soul. He felt her anxiety. He wanted to help her but knew what happened when you tried to reach out to a cornered scared animal. He had a few scars to show for it. He weaved through the people to the bar and ordered a beer. He heard Vander say something about taking a break and the music switch over to recorded music. He felt the techno beats through the air into his chest.

Shadows swirled on the bar stool next to Beck. "Hey there Grizzly Adams. Where's your wild cat I seen you dancing with?" He winked.

Beck pull a mouthful of amber liquid into his mouth and let the bit of alcohol burn on the way down, "I don't know. One minute we are dancing and kissing then next she's running out of here like her ass is on fire and her hair is catching."

Vander shrugged, "You remember how she was, picky with who she shared pleasure with, a hellion to spar and an awesome partner in crime when it came to fucking with Kaleb." A smiled spread across Van's face with the last part.

Beck let a deep rumble of a laugh, "She is an enigma. It was almost as if she seen something that spooked her. I felt something in me like she may have used her magic to look at my soul, I dunno how to explain it." He rubbed his center chest.

"Mmm, she thinks she's been sly and hiding it, but I've noticed she been looking at people's souls lately. Like a lot. Not in the 'I'm gonna steal your soul, my pretty' way; remember when she did that for Halloween and somehow kept her eyes glowing green; anyway, like she's searching for something. Presca said she's looked at mine a few times and I've seen her look at his. Not sure what her angle is but she's up to something." Vander shared with a concerned look.

"I don't know. You ask Bix what it's about? He has the same magic. I don't think wither of them have ever met though."

"I will when he gets back. It's probably a good thing she never met Bix. Her Grammie trained him before they all had to leave Bosco and Sylvia was over the moon with how adept he was with seith magic. She always stayed at White Sea. Bix would go to Sylvia's and study."

"Yeah she loves her Grammie but it's also a sore spot for her as well. I remember the times she would rant for hours when I was over at their apartment. Lex would just sit there and read a book or just go to her room. I just listened until she calmed down and then she would curl up on me and cry. So what she did tonight…par for the course. I'm gonna head home, man. See ya around. Good show tonight." Beck finished off his mug and headed home.

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Lucy pulled out her keys to her condo and let her and Erik in. As soon as she shut the door she was pinned up against the closed door, lips covering hers. She wanted to let herself be drug into the hot fiery passions of a dragon slayer needing to claim his mate but her logic side of her mind but up a cock block. She pulled back from the maddening kiss, "Erik! Stop for a minute. We need to talk first." She pushed him back to get a little space.

Erik growled a little. His dragon rumbled at him. It didn't want to talk, it want to claim her and mate. He took a deep breath a pushed the scaly bastard down a bit, "I know Tink. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the text and leaving for so long." He sighed.

Lucy lead him over to the overstuffed tan couch. "Erik, first off I'm not angry with you. At first I was hurt, I mean getting a text, really a fucking text? Instead of talking to me about whatever what bothering you, you took a long fucking job. I had no idea what was going on. All I knew is that I was hurting, here," she pointed to her chest, "It took Natsu, Natsu of all people, to tell me what was going on. Now that you're back, the pain is gone, but I want to hear it from you. Tell me what you want and what is going on." She finished her tirade on a calm forgiving tone.

Erik sat on the couch with his head in his hands like a small child who was being scolded. In a way what he did was childish, breaking up with his mate in a text message. That was cowardly, and not telling her why, even worst. But the cherry on top of this shit show was Natsu told her what was going on with her.

He needed to tell her why he left for such a long time. He pulled his head up and look into her big brown doe eyes that were glassy from tears she was holding back, "Tink…Lucy, I'm sorry I broke up with you over a text message. It was a gutless move on my part. I was scared, sacred that you would reject me as…as a…my mate. You know that we would be mated until one of dies. I know you want children and…and I can't give you them…b-because of what that stupid fucker, Brain, did to me," He took a deep breath and look up from the spot on the carpet he had been staring. Lucy didn't say anything, but her eyes spoke volumes. They gave him the courage to keep going and reminded him why he loved her so much, "I just didn't want you to be stuck with a sterile sometimes snarky but always handsome poison dragon slayer, but I know now that it your choice if you want me or not."

Lucy cocked an eyebrow, "Sometimes snarky, huh? What would you call the rest of the times then?" she said as s mile drifted up her lips.

Erik saw the twinkle in her eyes return, "I'm always effervescent and charming, tch."

"You know you're an idiot right? Trying to make or take my choice away from me." She pushed at him with a little hint of anger in her voice.

"Yeah I'm a huge idiot that loves his Tink a lot and will get on bended knees for forgiveness, but please don't make me beg Lucy." He pleaded.

Lucy looked over at the maroon haired man. She knew Erik was like any other dragon slayer, even Natsu; they had their pride of being strong and vibrant. She knew making him beg would tear him up but she had already forgiven him. She just had a wicked idea though. She had already knew she wanted to be his mate and didn't care that he was sterile. They could adopt.

Erik watched her. He heard the tone in her soul change to something different. It had a more lascivious tone to it. He moaned lightly at the sound of her soul.

Lucy looked at him with longing in her eyes, "Hmmm, since you offered get on your knees and come 'beg' for it right now." She said with promises of more wickedness later.

"Oh Tink you're gonna be the one begging before I'm through…" Erik said as he moved to the floor on his knees. He flipped her legs over his shoulders and pushed her dress up past her hips. He growled at the pathetic satin fabric between him and where he wanted to be. Her ripped the panties out of his way and inhaled the tantalizing scent of her arousal. His inner dragon roared. He purred as he teased her with one long teasing lick from the entrance to her channel to the apex where her sensitive pearl sat. It elicited a long moan of ecstasy from her that sounded perfect to his sensitive hearing. It spurred him on as he started a long torturous pleading for forgiveness.

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Cat sat outside in the backyard overlooking the large lake. She felt her onyx beads warm on her bracelet so she released her souls. She felt Tito presence envelop her like a hug then dissipate as if her were hugging her. She felt Riko hovering beside her. She could feel his confusion over what was happening. Tito has been with her since she was 6 years old and refuses to move on. He's told her over and over he swore and oath to the Lady herself he would protect her until Cat's final days.

Tito wavered in front of the confused blonde sitting on the grass with her knees drawn up against her chest and her chin perched on them. He sighed as well as a spirit could then manifested into a spectral green body with no defined features. He crossed his arms, "Catrina, why are you sulking out here? I know you found the one you've been searching for. I felt the change in your magic and a pull to another soul." Tito asked in a haunting voice.

"Tito I'm not acting like I'm 13 again and I'm not sulking. You know what the problem is, Grammie. I'm so full of joy that it's Beck. I can't tell you in words how I feel about it. It's just that…that she isn't going to be happy about it. She isn't going to think he's good enough because he isn't a seith mage. She wants me to find a nice seith mage and settle down." Cat snorted, "Could you see me 'settled' down with another seith? I'd always feel inadequate or like they were judging me or just…you know all the things she does to me." She threw her hands up in the air with frustration.

Tito thought about what his mistress said. He knew she was right Sylvia was one tough cookie. She ruled the house with an iron fist. She was why the girls stayed at White Seas until they had to fled the country, but Cat got pulled right back into the Blood Hunters soon after they left. "She just want what's best for you and your sister, you know that right?" He tried to rationalize.

"Please Tito don't try that shit with me. We know who's was her favorite. It wasn't me that's for damn sure. Would you like to be reminded about the little wooden totems?" She spat out. When she saw the spirit waver a bit, "I didn't think so. You like your freedom too. I keep you in the beads to move freely into places then let your roam freely. You know that's how we work. You know what needs done and it's translating to Riko."

Tito thought about what she said and knew she was right. Cat hated the little wooden dolls. She felt they were confining and it was easier to let him pass into items she needed and then out. She was a hand to hand combat mage and Sylvia was a range fighter. Two very different styles. Sylvia always chastised her about how she utilized her magic but also praised her on it as well. Cat just could see the positive in it most of the time. "Catrina, do what makes you happy. You deserve to be happy. You have lived under the thumb of someone for way too long. Go to that man and tell him what is happening. He has always been a calming spirit to your raging one." Tito said finally. His form dispersed as he went back to his little bead. She felt Riko return as well.

Cat sat there and thought about what Tito said. She thought about her time she spent with Beck. She was high strung and was always into mischief and Vander didn't help. She wouldn't have changed that for the world though. Beck waited out her little tirades about stupid shit. He let her rage about Grammie and how she chastise her performance then let her curl up and cry on his shoulder. After she cried it all out he would kiss her senseless until they were naked. He didn't care about her magic. His magic was similar to hers. His complimented hers. They would argue about it. She would throw and fit, cool down and go back to him. She let out a growl of frustration. She got up and left her little spot on the grass.

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"Gray? I don't want to go to my place. I…I want to go home with you." Piper said in a nervous tone. Not sure what her handsome escort home would say.

"Uh…Piper are you sure? I mean…I'm not sure…if we were to do anything what would happen." Gray said as he scratched the back of his neck.

They stopped at the halfway point between where she lived and he did. Piper was tired and a little drunk still, but she wasn't feeling like she was earlier. She knew she didn't want to be separated from Gray. "I know but tonight I just want to snuggle. I'm tired and still drunk. I want to curl up sleep…just sleep with you. I'll keep my kitsune self a bay for the night. Just don't make me go home alone." She pouted.

Gray could see the glossy look in the yellow eyes that told him she was exhausted was on the verge of passing out to alcohol induced slumber. Her flushed cheeks and wobbly gait also told him she was losing a battle to the drinks she had. He picked her up arm under knees and around her back. Piper slung her arms around his neck, buried her face in his neck, and sighed a happy sigh.

"You're a lightweight with alcohol, you know that foxy?" Gray laughed.

Piper muttered something that sounded like a uh-huh, agreeing with Gray. She was feeling the heaviness of alcohol and the tiredness of dancing on top of soaking up the body heat of Gray. She was welcoming sleep.

Gray shook his head and started walking to his place. Deep down he was elated that she chose to come home with him. He had been waiting for this for what seemed like forever. He knew nothing was going to happen and they needed to talk to some people before they started having a physical relationship but right now he'd take what every he was granted to have more time with Piper.

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Vander was dancing with several different partners to the recorded music that took over for him and his brothers. He felt something tug at his magic. It was a miniscule tug. It bothered him. There was nothing that he knew of that could tug on his magic. He was the only shadowquip to make to adulthood. The pull was so small he would let it go for the night and look into it tomorrow.

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Astrid was in her apartment in West Nitespring in a meditative state. She was trying to get through to the human shadowquip. She needed help. Darkness had settled over the city, but her pleas were going unanswered tonight. She got up from her pillow and left her apartment out into the chaos what was now West Nitespring.


	18. Spirits and Souls

Spirit and Soul

 _Re-examine all that you have been told... dismiss that which insults your soul. - Walt Whitman_

West Nitespring had changed in the months that it had been under the dark wings of the 12 Crows. The 12 Crows had prospered from the 'calamities' that had befallen the citizens of the city. Crime rates were up; Missing persons reports were at an all-time high especially children; Reports of demon attacks that had never been reported were now suddenly happening across the city. The now once thriving city on the southeastern port of the Sinese peninsula was no longer that shining haven for mages and non-mages alike. No one was out on the streets after dark. Fear gripped the citizens that they would be the next missing person.

Boots and heels hit the pavement in the summer heat of the evening. Three mages stood in the middle of a main street that was desolate. Storefronts boarded up for the night. It was barely six o'clock in the evening. "Well this isn't at all what Piper describe West Nitespring as being like. She said it was hustle and bustle 24/7. Now where am I supposed to shop at? It just now 6. Store should be at prime operating hours." Evergreen huffed with her fan out.

Freed looked around the downtown area. There were all kinds of stores that all three of the Thunder Legion would have enjoyed visiting but for some reason they were all locked up tight as the sun set. As if people were afraid of being out here at night. "Hmmm, you're right Ever this isn't right. This area of the city should be busy with people."

Bixlow floated down and hopped off his totems, "Literally guys there isn't a soul here in the down town area. It's a ghost town here. Piper said the down town area is the place to shop and get some good Sinese grub."

Shadows reared up and seized control of the Thunder Legion before they realized what was happening. "Well what do we have here? Lost little souls for us to tear from the living body?" A deep laugh rang out.

"No. They are rats for me to toy with for my demons, Martinez." A weird little laugh came from the opposite side.

"Shut up you idiots! The woman and the green haired man are too beautiful to mar. We'll sell them into slavery. As far as the knight, I'll have to see his face first. The master has an order for slaves for Pergrande." The third voice smoothly with a slithering his said.

Bixlow heard that third voice. The smoothness made his skin crawl but what really got him pissed was that they were wanting to send him and his friends to Pergrande. He'd rather die fighting that go there. He knew his brother Zen was a gladiator there for most of his life and he'd be damn if they were sending him there. He couldn't see any of the three mages he could only hear their voices. The shadows around them were too dark and constricting.

The three inside the shadows heard sounds of battle then the shadows receded. Leaving them with a clear view of what happened. Astrid stood there in her billowing cloak with her own shadows holding one figure. "I'm sorry I didn't get to you in time, but you can't stay here you must go back to Magnolia and tell Sam what is going on here. Tell him I'm ok, but he needs to get down here as soon as he recovers. I tried to contact the human shadowquip without success. I need him as well. My shadows are powerful, but he can reach deeper into the Voids. Strauss is killing the city. Taking the people as slaves, souls, blood sacrifices. Using the ports as ways to get things in and out of here. It is awful. They are smuggling out rare creatures or slaughtering them for their parts. They have control over the government. My shadows will get you to Bosco but you will have to get yourselves to Magnolia."

Without a rebuttal or a thank you, the Thunder Legion was pulled away into the shadows to Bosco and dropped them in the northern mountains of Bosco. "Well did anyone feel that that was a little cryptid?" Evergreen asked

"Definitely on the weird side." Bixlow agreed as he looked around the new surroundings.

Freed was deep in thought about what had happened, "While we were on that long mission, something dubious happened. Let's get this information to Laxus and this Sam person."

"Wait isn't Sam Piper's guild master? I remember her talking about him." Bixlow added.

"Could explain the creepiness factor in West Nitespring if something terrible has happened." Evergreen said.

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Lucy woke up with the sun streaming into her bedroom demanding that she wake up. She stretched and yawned, feeling a solid warm body next to her. She tried to detangle herself from the poison dragon slayer but was only pulled in tighter as he nuzzled into her hair while growling. Lucy giggled at the affection and possessiveness. "Sweetie I'll give you five more minutes then you HAVE to let me up, k." She told him as she settled back down into his long tone arms and body heat.

Erik didn't even open his eyes. He wanted his Tink next to him. She was comforting to him and warm. He growled back, "No I'm going to keep you here as long as I want you and I am staying in this bed until I finish claiming you."

Lucy laughed, "I'm all for staying bed with you, but I have to pee. So if you want me to pee in his bed, which is gross, you need to let me up." That confession got an immediate release.

"Fine. Bathroom privileges." He growled as he burrowed deeper into the blankets and pillows, making a cocoon.

Lucy knew he had more reptile characteristics than the rest of the dragon slayers. He got cold easier and enjoyed cuddles more because of the heat. She looked back at his 'nest' and shook her head as she went into bathroom that joined her master bedroom. She looked in the mirror before she left the bathroom. Her eyes went wide as she saw the faint outlines of a jade green dragon swirling at her shoulder with its head just about her heart and its tail wrapping around her arm to her elbow. She grinned from ear to ear. She was elated to know that she belonged to him and he belonged to her. She was glad he finally got it through his thick head she didn't care about his past or the fact the he could give her biological children. She wanted to share her life with him and children can be adopted. She brushed out her blonde hair, pulled it up in a high ponytail, and made her way to the kitchen. She needed coffee and food.

Erik grumbled when he realized his Tink did return to bed when coffee filled his nose and her happy tinkling of her soul entered his ears. He decided he better get up. He untangled from his blankets and pillows and pulled on her pink fuzzy sleep pants that were too short for him and just a bit tight in the waist. He walked out into her modern kitchen and took in the sight of his Tink buzzing around the kitchen making breakfast. He saw his mark peeking out from her left shoulder down her arm to her elbow under the oversized tee she was wearing. It made him feel an array of emotions one being lust and the other love. He looked around her kitchen and saw the small herb planters near the stove next to the fridge. It had thyme, rosemary, parsley and…belladonna, hemlock and devil's ivy. She took some of the poisonous plants and crushed them up in a mortar and pestle and added them to his coffee. Tink handed him his coffee, "Looks like someone decided to do the rise and shine thing today."

He gratefully took the coffee and grumbled back, "I will rise but I refuse to shine, even for you Tink."

She gave him a naughty look, "I'm sure I could do some things that would make you shine." She winked.

"Mm mm, Sunshine you aren't going anywhere for at least two weeks until that mark get set nice and deep and rich saying that you're all mine." He purred at her. He cursed in his mind at the damn fuzzy pink pants making him really uncomfortable.

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Sylvia walked out of her room to go down for breakfast. She stopped by Catrina's room first to check on her. She pushed the door open and found her room empty. She frowned. She knew it wasn't like her granddaughter to stray far from her since she freed her from the Blood Hunters. She went over to her other granddaughter's room because sometimes Catrina would sleep with her. Sylvia knocked and no answer. She opened the door to quite the site. Not a site that would shock any Boscan native. She cleared her throat, "Alexa! Is Catrina in there with you Nick and your pink haired friend?"

Sylvia seen some movement but then heard the muffled voice of her granddaughter, "No Grammie! Cat doesn't like sharing pleasure like this. Now if you don't mind we would like to finish what we are in the middle of doing."

Sylvia pulled the door shut and shook her head. She knew her granddaughter were the complete opposite. Catrina was the daughter of her first daughter Tess and that detestable man she married, Strauss Dresdan. The thought of that man hurt her heart knowing that he killed her oldest daughter and almost in a way killed her oldest granddaughter and her youngest daughter was the mother of Alexa who didn't inherit the seith magic but her mother was killed when their clan was destroyed when the girls were the age of six. Sylvia raised them like sisters. She watched as they got older that Catrina started getting dark streaks in her hair. When she was twelve, Sylvia figured out that Strauss implanted a shade inside of Catrina. It took all her power and Alexa's fire to rid her of it. Sylvia watched her do terrible things to souls and she even ate one. That is what tipped her off to the shade. When the shade was removed, her hair was a golden blonde again.

She then allowed the girls to strike out on their own and live at the White Sea guild. This allowed them to expand their magic. She remembers training one of Arman Pradesh's sons. She remembered how talented he was with his seith magic. He was very powerful at a young age. Sylvia hoped that he and Catrina would meet and become a couple and give her great grandbabies that had 100% seith magic. She even sent a letter to Arman about getting the two youths together, Arman never responded.

Sylvia remembered the day that had all her hopes dashed when she went to the White Sea guild to pick the girls up for Summer Solstice. She saw Catrina talking to a tall gangly green haired teen boy. She saw how taken her granddaughter was with the boy. Sylvia knew the boy wasn't a seith mage. He was from Clan Kitsune, a Grass Sea clan. She cursed internally when she seen a tiny green thread between them. Sylvia knew that that meant. It enraged her and it made her plans to have Catrina marry Arman son or at least be promised. She growled, "Catrina!"

Opal looked as her younger sister descended the stairs, "What has you deep in thought sister?" Sylvia has a scowl on her face. She knew she was thinking about Catrina. She knew that she frustrated her sister the most because she didn't follow any of her plans or schemes. Opal was the sister who saw the future and Sylvia helped souls with their pasts but that there was a reason why her youngest sister earn the moniker, Sylvia the Gray. It wasn't because of her hair color. Sylvia dabbled in dark side of the seith magic as well.

"She didn't come home last night Opal. That boy is in town as well helping that new Kitsune soul." Sylvia barked.

Opal smiled. She knew who 'that boy'. Catrina's one. Opal knew her niece had been looking for him for a few years now. Opal has always known who it was and she also knows how much Sylvia despises him. "Sister dear, you know what will happen if you interfere with those two…"

"Yes! The Lord and Lady will demand something from me." Sylvia grunted.

"So why are you still harboring ill will toward the Fashion boy. He's from a good thriving clan. He has a mastery over animals that no one can match. What is the problem with him?" Opal asked wanting to finally know what the issue was.

Sylvia narrowed a glare at her sister, "He's not a seith mage, Opal dear. How you like it if Nick brought home someone that wasn't up to your standards, hmm?" she ended with a raised eyebrow.

Opal snickered at her sister, "Really? That's why you don't like him? He isn't a 'seith mage'. I hate to tell you this, Syl, but big. Fucking. Deal. I don't care who Nick wants as long as he is happy. It could be a fucking mermaid with a tail and everything or a minotaur. Frank and I don't care. You're the one getting between Catrina and her happiness." Opal said with a smile and sipped on her tea.

"I had proposed a perfectly good seith mage for her to meet…" Sylvia started.

"Arman Pradesh's son. The one that you trained. Not a chance there sister. There is something else in the future for that soul…" Opal tapped next to her left eye, signifying that she seen something in the future regarding that man.

Sylvia crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, "Fine! I'll stay out of the children's business."

Opal retorted, "That's great, Syl. The other problem is that you still see them as little girls. They aren't. they are grown women. Let them find their own way like we did."

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Cat stirred on a hammock in a cabin that was messy. She snuck into the house and managed to get a key from the pink haired guy Lex and Nick were with so she could crash away from here. She noticed there was a blue cat on her. She poked the cat "Hey kitty, you're on my bladder and making it hard for me to not pee myself." The blue cat stirred and floated up on white wings. Cat tried to get out of the hammock but ended up face first on the floor. "Ok, note to self, don't sleep in a hammock. Hey cat, where is the bathroom in this pig sty?" She asked as she looked around the bachelor pad. It was messy. Pots and pans in the sink, dirty laundry all over the place."

The blue cat rubbed it eyes and looked at her, "Lushie, why are you here and where is Natsu?"

"I'm not whoever Lushie is. My name is Cat and Natsu stayed with my sister and my cousin last night. I crashed here to get away from my house because I wanted to be alone. Bathroom or I'm gonna pee in the sink." She leveled at the flying cat.

The blue cat floated over to a room off the main room and pointed, "In there, sheesh. My name is Happy by the way."

"Great thanks, Happy the flying cat." Cat called out as she shut the door. She looked down at her dress. It was a little wrinkled but it wasn't torn or stained. She'd return it to Lucy later today. She came out still in her dress. "Happy does your friend Natsu have any clothes that are clean I can wear?"

Happy flittered over to the pile of 'clean' clothes and brought Cat some baggy white pants and vest. She didn't have a bra. She looked around and found a tee shirt. "This will do for now. Thanks Happy. By the way how can we talk?"

Happy talked to her while she showered and explained what exceeds were and how they liked being around dragon slayers. "Hmm, sounds interesting." She braided her hair and pulled the tee shirt over her head. It didn't smell too bad and the baggy pants were too big but she tied them as tight as she could. She left after thanking Happy and heading to Lucy's.

Cobra smelled the sweat of flame fuck before she even knocked on the door? "Tink I'm not in the mood for bestie friend flame fuck and when did he start using the door?" He growled as he sipped on his coffee and finished his French toast.

Lucy came around the island and kissed Erik on the nose, "He probably wants some food. I'm sure of I tell him about what's going on he'll leave."

Erik was not in the mood for another male being near his mate even if the male was queerer than a three-jeweled bill. Tink was his and he wasn't in the mood to share right now. He got up and left his unfinished food on the bar and retreated to the bedroom. He brought his coffee with him. He ripped off the constricting pink fuzzy pants and crawled back in bed.

Lucy opened the door surprised to not find Natsu but Cat dressed in Natsu's clothes. "Uh…good morning Cat. Umm…is there a reason you're in Natsu's clothes?" She stood to the side and left the other blonde in.

Cat came in, "Uh…well…I slept as his place because he was at my place with my sister and cousin. I didn't want to go home and deal with that shit or Grammie. I came to return your dress. It's a little wrinkled, but otherwise its fine." Cat notice the green dragon going down her left arm. "Erik got his head out of his ass did he?" Cat said with a sly look.

Lucy giggled and Cat heard a very loud growl from the bedroom, "Calm down sugar tits! I'm about done and she can go back to taming her dragon." Cat looked back at Lucy, "So thanks for the dress, I'm gonna head to the guild, maybe see you in a couple weeks." Cat said and hugged the other blonde.

Cat left the condominium area of Magnolia started walking without a destination even though she told Lucy she was going to the guild. She walked until she reached a park with a large tree in the center. She decided to sit on a bench and people watch. It was one of her favorite past times even when she was a Blood Hunter. As she sat there, she drew back inside her memories of her past.

"Catrina!" Cat heard her Grammie screech out her name. She looked up at Beck and gave him a peck on the lips. She enjoyed being around him. He was soothing to be around. She didn't have to put up any fronts. She could just be herself. She hustled over to Grammie to save herself from a tongue-lashing. She wanted a happy Summer Solstice. "Catrina, why were you with that boy?" Grammie was giving her the third degree.

Blue eyes met the older gray ones, "Because I like him. He has a mountain lion from near where we are from. He lets me play with the lion."

"You stay away from him. He's not good enough for you, you hear me. He's not even a seith mage"

"Yes Grammie." Cat sulked.

Cat let a tear slip down her cheek at that memory. She loved her Grammie but in a way hated her. She kept her away from her one for all these years. She looked up at an older couple across the park. She could see the love they radiated. She wanted that. She's wanted that for years, but only realized that now because she had to hide her feelings for anyone or anything. If she showed any weakness Grendace would smother it, kill it, anything to keep her in line. Now she was free, free from the Steel Council and could love anyone Grammie approved. She frowned at that. She didn't want to fill some mold Grammie had in place for her. She found about a few marriage proposals her grandmother sent to the Ambassador of Bosco for one of his sons. Cat knew which one it was too even though they never met. She didn't want some man she never met. She didn't know why Grammie did that. She wasn't a princess or heiress. She was a weapon. Cat was trained for extracting things whether they were physical or those hidden in the souls of her targets. Weapons were made to kill until they were useless then they were either discarded or repurposed. That's where she was in her life. That's why she wanted to be a guild mage. She was repurposing herself from assassin to someone who could help people.

Cat had sat there to notice that the sun had gotten higher in the sky. She refocused on the people around her. She felt a fuzzy head nudge her arm. "Meow!" An orange tabby with golden eyes demanded to be pet sat beside her. "Well hello there. What brings you here? Are you here to commiserate with me?" She asked the tabby as the tabby rubbed into her hand and started purring. Cat noticed a golden color around the tabby's neck that had amber stones faceted in it. The Tabby got up abruptly and ran off but not far. It seemed to be beckoning Cat. The blonde got up and followed the tabby. It trotted off staying just ahead of cat. It led her across town then out of town to a clearing in the forest.

Two cats lounged in the clearing. They were massive. Coats so black they were blue. One opened its eye and looked at what had intruded upon its slumber and went back to sleep in true cat behavior. It didn't give a shit as long as it wasn't being bothered. Cat felt the magical energy. She recognized the large cats. The orange tabby was no longer in the clearing. She turned to find a tall beautiful woman in a long gauzy dress with a golden torc with amber set into it. She had golden concentric eyes that were kind yet held a deadly edge to them. Cat immediately fell to her knees and bowed her head. "Catrina my how you have grown since the last time I saw you. You wouldn't remember but I was there when your grandmother and sister removed that nasty little shade your sperm donor left you."

She placed a hand on Cat's head. "Stand up her Catrina. I brought you here to this place to tell you that your grandmother cannot dictate to you who you love. Just as she could not dictate how you used my gift of the seidr magic. All seith mages have the abilities to see souls, possess souls, and help the lost souls move on. However, you my dear Catrina are different. You have done something that hasn't been accomplished in centuries by a mortal. You have practiced battlefield seith magic where you give those who have fallen, the ability to take revenge on the one that has harmed them, Soulfire. You were able to taken hundreds of souls, place them in beads, bring them somewhere safe, and give them a funeral fit for one of the old kings. You need to be proud of yourself. You have matured into a lovely young woman who regards her comrades with respect. For this I want to grant you a boon." The wind picked up around the two feminine figures in the clearing. "I, Freya, Mistress of the Chosen, Possessor of the Slain, grant you Catrina Sinclair the powers as my champion, Maiden of the Chosen. Guard your powers well, child."

Cat didn't know what to say. She was dumbfounded that the Goddess had chosen her to be her champion. She fell to her knees again, "Thank you my Lady. I promise I won't fail you."

Two ravens flew into the clearing and landed in front of Cat. They bobbed their heads at her taking her in and squawked at her. She didn't know what to do about them. She saw Freya moving her feet to shoo them away, "Go away you two nosy bird brains. Tell my husband that he if he doesn't keep to himself I'll make sure I take his other eye and hide it somewhere he won't find it this time." Freya laughed. "Now stand my Maiden. You must find your Vitki. This will strengthen your magic and his. You already know who it is. Don't worry about Sylvia the Gray. Grammie and I go way back." Freya winked and faded into a golden shower as well as the two sleeping cats.

Cat stood in the clearing alone. She felt no different than she did before. She looked down on her right hand she noticed a black trisquel. Nothing fancy just simply sculptured lines. She realized that the sun was starting to set. She had been here for the entire afternoon. She tugged at her baggy pants that were sagging little. She didn't know where to look for him. He wasn't from Magnolia. A raven appeared again. He looked at her again with a bobbing head and cawed at her. It hopped away and looked back again like it wanting followed. Cat took the hint.

Beck was returning from dinner with Vander, Kaleb and Presca. He smiled to himself as he recalled the friendly amount of teasing that went around the table. There was still little bit of sunlight left of the day this late in the evening when he noticed an elderly man with a cane. He seemed lost. Beck walked over to him to offer assistance that's when the younger man noticed the older man was blind, "Good evening sir. Do you need some help?"

The older man startled a little and looked in the direction the voice came from, "Oh yes. Thank you young man. My wife seems to think it funny to hide it from me when she thinks I'm being a busy-body." The elderly man cryptically said.

Beck gave him a puzzled look, "Hide what sir?" he asked as he reached out and settled one of his large hands on a frail elbow.

The old man laughed a whimsical laugh. He turned at looked at the younger man as if he had two working eyes and studied the younger man. He reached up with a gnarled weathered hand and stroked his beard.

Beck should have felt uncomfortable but didn't. He was used to getting long looks from strangers because of his unique look. He had one blue eye and one yellow eye; his green hair accented them and his skin tone. His physical stature was impressive as well, but then again when you wrestle with bears and other larger creatures you need to have the brawn to do so, but he was a gentle giant when he cared for his sick and injured.

The older man finally spoke, "You remind me of me when I was young and full of vim and vigor. I bet you're a lady killer too, aren't you." He winked which was odd since there was no eyeball to fill out the socket. "Well son if you're going to escort an old man back home let me at least introduce myself. My name is Harbard."

Beck smiled at the blind man, "Beck, sir. Nice meeting you. As far as the ladies, I wouldn't turn any away, I mean I am from Bosco, but there is just one that my heart wants." He admitted to the stranger.

The old man mused as the continued walking, "Ah yes Bosco where pleasure is pleasure. Tell me son why are you here with this old man and not with the one your heart wants." He pushed.

Beck thought about why he wasn't with Cat. He never pushed the issue with her because if he did she would run further away. He knew she had no issues with him or his magic but her Grammie did for some reason she would never talk about. Then she disappeared. He found out through Kaleb that she was recruited as a Blood Hunter and he just let her go at that point. He didn't want to endanger her. He had heard what they did to Vander and Presca. Now he had a second chance with her but she was like a feral animal, he had to let her come to him. "Well Harbard, she's complicated woman and her family has an issue with my magic…"

The old man snorted, "Ha! Because you can't see human souls? My boy your magic is every bit the same as hers in fact it compliments it and will make you more powerful. Think about how your magic works son…" A raven appeared on the old man's shoulder. It squawked at Beck. He turned around to see Cat running towards him in clothes that obviously didn't belong to her.

"Beck!" He heard as she launched herself into his arms. He wrapped them around her and felt her arms go around his neck as she buried her face into his chest. He kissed the top of her head as he chuckled, "Hey you. You decide what you're doing yet?"

Crystal blue eyes looked up into his bi-colored ones with a blush in her cheeks, "Uh… yes, and I don't care what Grammie says. I want you. I always have, but we have to talk about some things first."

"I figured. You're like a wild animal sometimes with your emotions. Uh, I need to finish getting…Harbard…back…" he looked around and the old man was no longer with them. He disappeared as if he was there. He looked on around and saw a raven, which cawed and flew away.


	19. The Green Eyed Fox

I want to apologize for Chapter 19. It was a mess. One muse went rogue. As you read, it was bad. Other muses have taken it hostage. There are intense negotiations happening with the muses, "The Editor", and 2 unicorns? I'm gonna back out of this intense situation slowly before the unicorns decide to take me to candy mountain.

Don't' worry for those of you who are enjoying What Happens in Sin Doesn't Stay in Sin it will return. The above-mentioned will need to work things out.


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